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THE  COMMUNITY 


An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of 
Community  Leadership  and  Organization 

EDUARD  C.  LINDEMAN 

Professor  of  Sociology 
North  Carolina  College  for  Women 
Greensboro,  North  Carolina 


47742 

ASSOCIATION  PRESS 

New  York:  347  Madison  Avenue 
1921 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
The  International  Committee  of 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


H 


o  / 


To 

The  Communities  of  the  State  of  Michigan 
— Towns,  Villages,  and  Open  Country — and 
Their  Leaders  with  Whom  I  Was  Privileged  to 
Spend  Four  Happy  Years  of  Intimate  Service, 
and  from  Whom  I  Learned  Most  of  What  I 
Have  Here  Presented  Concerning  "The  Com- 
munity.5' 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Preface   vii 

I.    The  Social  Nature  of  Man  ....  1 

II.    The  Neighborhood  and  the  Community  8 

III.  Community    Institutions    and  Their 

Functions   17  . 

IV.  The  Vital-Interest  Group    ....  26 
V.    Types  of  Communities   40 

VI.    The  Community  Movement  and  De- 
mocracy   58 

Community  Needs  and  Agencies  .  .  77 
Institutionalism   and   the   Division  of 

Labor                                          .  99 

IX.    The  Process  of  Community  Action  .     .  119 
X.    Theories  and  Principles  of  Community 

Organization   139 

XL    Theories  and  Principles  of  Community 

Organization  (Continued)     .     .     .  164 
XII.    Christianity   and   Community7  Leader- 
ship .188 

Addendum.    A  Twentieth  Century  Confession 

of  Faith   211 

Index   215 


I 

I 

I 


I 

I 


/ 


PREFACE 


Discontent  with  current  political,  economic, 
and  social  organization  appears  to  be  well-nigh 
universal.  Men  everywhere  are  attempting  to 
work  out  a  new  way  of  living  together.  We 
live  in  a  period  which  is  likely  to  produce  many 
theories.  Extremists  of  one  sort  will  want  the 
entire  structure  of  the  present  destroyed. 
Extremists  of  another  sort  will  insist  on  keeping 
the  old  machinery  intact.  In  the  meantime,  a 
few  men  and  women  here  and  there  will  be 
attempting  to  evaluate  the  resources  of  the 
present  world;  these  have  abandoned  all  short- 
cuts to  progress,  and  have  set  for  themselves 
the  task  of  building  the  future  out  of  the 
materials  at  hand. 

Science  has  produced  a  technology  which  now 
permeates  and  affects  all  of  modern  life.  The 
technologists  or  the  specialists  are  indispensable 
to  modern  communities.  All  divisions  of 
knowledge  have  been  divided  into  smaller  divi- 
sions. The  specialist  selects  his  field  and  de- 
votes his  life  to  it.  The  rapid  increase  of 
knowledge  since  the  beginning  of  the  use  of  the 
scientific  method  has  made  specialism  inevitable. 

But  the  specialist  is  not  happy;  he  is  not  free 
to  promote  his  speciality,  nor  is  he  cordially  en- 
couraged to  lend  his  aid  in  solving  modern 


viii 


PREFACE 


problems.  Specialism  is  apparently  in  conflict 
with  some  other  current  in  modern  life.  It  is 
my  assumption  that  this  conflicting  factor  is  the 
social  force  which  usually  goes  by  the  name  of 
Democracy.  The  materials  of  this  text  revolve 
about  these  two  forces:  Specialism  and  De- 
mocracy. How  may  these  two  forces  be  inter- 
preted as  elements  of  social  progress? 

In  seeking  an  answer  to  the  above  query,  I 
have  devoted  ten  years  of  study  to  the  local 
community.  Half  of  that  period  was  spent  in 
practical  contact  with  communities.  The  other 
half  has  been  divided  between  the  accumulation 
of  studies,  and  interpretations  to  students.  I 
have  looked  upon  the  community  as  the  unit  of 
social  organization  in  which  lies  the  greatest 
element  of  hope  for  permanent  progress.  This 
does  not  imply  that  I  put  out  of  mind  the  essen- 
tial functions  of  larger  units,  such  as  counties, 
states,  and  nations.  These  larger  units  are 
essential  in  proportion  to  their  usefulness  to  the 
smaller  community  units;  they  frequently  be-  | 
come  inimical  to  the  wholesome  growth  of  the 
smaller,  organic  units.  1 

The  Community  Movement  may  appear  to 
many  to  be  disintegrating  in  tendency.    Super-  1 
ficially,  this  is  true.    We  have  drifted  toward 
control  "from  the  top,"  until  control  from  | 
within  appears  to  be,  not  only  difficult,  but  con-  1 


PREFACE 


fx 


trary  to  progress.  The  determination  with 
which  peoples  everywhere  are  struggling  for 
release  from  "outside"  controls  presents  a 
picture  of  disintegration.  This  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  temporary  phase  of  adjustment. 
When  the  Community  Movement  has  produced 
a  philosophy  and  a  technique  which  is  intelli- 
gible to  the  minds  of  the  so-called  common 
people,  there  will  come  into  being  a  new  rela- 
tionship between  community  units  and  the 
larger  units.  I  confine  myself  in  this  text  to 
a  consideration  of  the  former. 

It  will  be  noted  that  extensive  references 
have  been  avoided.  The  general  reader  has 
little  need  for  such  references;  the  student  will 
be  directed  to  the  literature  on  the  community 
by  teachers,  and  through  the  problems  which 
follow  each  chapter.  The  book  is  designed  to 
meet  the  needs  of  classes  studying  community 
organization.  Its  further  purpose  is  to  present 
a  non-mechanistic  interpretation  of  the  Com- 
munity Movement  to  teachers,  pastors,  secre- 
taries of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations, 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations  and 
community  leaders  in  general. 

Eduard  C.  Lindeman. 

Greensboro,  N.  C, 
June,  1921. 


CHAPTER  I 


THE  SOCIAL  NATURE  OF  MAN 

The  problem  of  civilization  is  the  problem  of 
establishing  good  human  relationships.  Man  is 
destined  by  nature  and  by  environment  to  live  in 
cooperation  with  his  fellow-men.  The  purpose 
of  social  organization  is  to  bring  about  ami- 
cable relationships  between  men  and  groups  of 
men. 

Man  is  born  with  three  instinctive  traits, 
which,  in  a  large  degree,  give  direction  to  all 
his  motives  and  his  acts.  Each  of  us  is  born 
with  the  impulse  to  preserve  his  own  life;  this 
is  known  as  the  self-preservation  instinct.  Each 
normal  human  being  is  also  endowed  with  the 
instinct  to  perpetuate  himself;  this  is  known  as 
the  instinct  of  self-perpetuation.  And  each  of 
us  is  born  with  the  impulse  to  express  his  own 
personality;  this  is  called  the  instinct  of  self- 
assertion. 

The  student  may  at  once  ask,  "How  can  man 
be  destined  to  cooperative  life  when  his  whole 
instinctive  equipment  seems  to  fit  him  for  self- 
preservation,  ^//-perpetuation,  and  5<?//-asser- 


2 


THE  COMMUNITY 


tion,  in  short,  for  selfishness?"  It  is  precisely 
in  this  sphere  of  self-seeking  that  man  is  forced 
to  reveal  his  inherent  social  nature.  His  great 
and  dominant  impulse  or  interest  is  to  survive. 
How  can  survival  be  accomplished?  By  pre- 
serving one's  self,  by  perpetuating  one's  self 
and  by  asserting  one's  self.  Each  one  of  these 
instinctive  processes  of  man  involves  relation- 
ships with  other  human  beings.  An  examina- 
tion of  these  three  principal  impulses  or  in- 
stincts of  man  is  necessary. 

The  Social  Nature  of  the  Instinct  of  Self- 
Preservation 

The  new-born  child  has  the  impulse  of  self- 
preservation.  This  impulse  is  accompanied  by 
the  feeling  of  hunger.  To  satisfy  this  hunger, 
the  child  must  secure  food.  The  search  for 
food  and  the  final  acquisition  of  food  involve 
a  series  of  physical  acts  which  need  not  be 
learned.  The  child  is  equipped  with  the  re- 
flexes and  the  series  of  reflexes  which  make  it 
possible  to  accomplish  its  end.  Sucking,  swal- 
lowing, digesting — these  are  physical  acts  which 
it  accomplishes  without  instruction.  But  the 
complete  series  of  reflexes  which  are  essential 
for  the  satisfaction  of  hunger  involves  coopera- 
tion with  the  child's  mother.    At  the  very  be- 


THE  SOCIAL  NATURE  OF  MAN 


3 


ginning  of  its  life,  the  child  finds  itself  depen- 
dent upon  another  human  being  for  its  survival. 

As  the  child  grows,  it  becomes  evident  that 
there  are  certain  other  instinctive  tendencies 
such  as  fighting,  flight,  rivalry,  belonging  (gre- 
gariousness) ,  acquisition,  etc.,  which  in  their 
origins  were  essential  to  survival.  To  preserve 
one's  self  demands  the  use  of  the  instinct  of 
flight.  The  accompanying  emotion  of  fear  is 
the  natural  warning,  the  safeguard  which  pre- 
vents annihilation.  Man  soon  learns,  however, 
that  by  combining  his  strength  with  that  of 
others,  he  can  preserve  himself  more  effectively. 
This  combination  for  protection,  or  for  fighting, 
is,  of  course,  a  conscious  process.  But  it  is  the 
only  method  whereby  the  instincts  can  ade- 
quately express  themselves.  Without  coopera- 
tion, it  would  be  merely  a  matter  of  time  before 
a  species  would  annihilate  itself.  In  short,  it 
is  the  social  expression  of  the  self-preserving 
instinct  which  in  the  end  preserves  the  indi- 
vidual. 

The  Social  Nature  of  the  Self-Perpetuation 
Instinct 

The  impulse  of  self-perpetuation  expresses 
itself  primarily  in  the  realm  of  sex.  The  human 
race  is  bisexual  and  cannot  perpetuate  itself 


4 


THE  COMMUNITY 


without  cooperation  between  the  sexes.  The 
physical  acts  and  the  emotional  accompaniments 
of  sex,  such  as  parental  love,  filial  love,  sexual 
love,  jealousy,  etc.,  are  all  indicative  of  hu- 
man relationships.  Sex-gratification  and  child- 
rearing  are  the  corner  stones  of  the  social 
organization,  known  as  the  family.  There  is 
no  purely  individualistic  means  of  satisfying  the 
sex  desires  excepting  in  cases  of  sex-perversion 
and  abnormalities.  The  normal  expression  of 
sex  desires  leads  directly  to  forms  of  social  or- 
ganization. From  the  family  it  is  but  a  short 
step  to  the  organization  of  a  number  of  families 
into  the  tribe  and  later  into  the  state  or  nation. 

The  Social  Nature  of  the  Instinct  of  Self- 
Assertion 

Man  is  not  content  merely  to  preserve  his 
life  and  to  perpetuate  it  in  his  offspring.  There 
exists  also  the  instinctive  urge  to  express  his 
individual  personality.  This  instinct  manifests 
itself  in  early  childhood  in  various  forms  of 
play,  imitation  and  manipulation.  In  later 
stages,  there  appear  the  distinct  longings  for 
leadership,  for  power  and  prestige.  The  in- 
stinct of  self-assertion  lies  at  the  bottom  of 
play,  art,  drama,  politics  and  religion.  These 
are  all,  in  their  highest  forms,  social  expres- 
sions. 


THE  SOCIAL  NATURE  OF  MAN  5 


One  of  man's  chief  tools  for  self-assertion  is 
language.  It  is  at  once  evident  that  language 
is  a  social  product.  It  never  could  have  come 
into  existence  without  cooperation.  In  fact, 
man's  urge  for  self-assertion  is  essentially  a 
process  of  communicating  "himself"  to  his 
social  group. 

Self-assertion  is  impossible  without  other  hu- 
man beings  upon  whom  the  "self"  is  asserted. 
And  when  the  forms  of  self-assertion  come 
under  social  control,  they  give  rise  to  the  vari- 
ous forms  of  association  and  organization 
which  mark  the  increasing  social  nature  of 
humankind. 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  the  social  na- 
ture of  man's  instinctive  equipment.  But  man 
has  two  environments — one  social  and  one  ma- 
terial. Does  the  material  or  physical  environ- 
ment of  man  impose  conditions  which  also 
foster  cooperation? 

It  is  evident  that  just  as  man  cooperates  to 
protect  himself  from  other  men.  so  he  also  co- 
operates to  protect  himself  from  the  dangers  of 
his  physical  environment.  It  is  in  this  sphere 
that  man  is  differentiated  from  the  animals. 
All  other  animals  adapt  themselves  to  their  en- 
vironments or  suffer  the  penalty  of  death. 
Man  faces  the  same  imperative,  "Adapt  or 
die!"  but  man  avoids  the  penalty  by  changing 


6 


THE  COMMUNITY 


his  environment.  Man's  exploitation  of  his 
physical  environment  to  satisfy  his  increasing 
wants  is  the  story  of  a  gigantic,  cooperative  en- 
terprise. Without  the  various  forms  of  associa- 
tion it  is  not  conceivable  how  man  could  have 
survived  the  stronger  and  larger  animals,  or  the 
rigors  of  climate. 

The  very  handicap  which  man  faces  in  his 
physical  environment  forces  him  to  unite  with 
others  in  rising  above  this  environment.  The 
pioneer  settlement,  as  well  as  the  modern  in- 
dustrial corporation,  represents  man's  method 
of  dealing  with  his  material  environment;  it  is 
distinctly  a  method  of  associations,  combina- 
tion, amalgamation — of  social  cooperation. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

i.  Keep  a  record  of  one  week's  activities. 
Tabulate  all  of  your  activities  for  this  period  in 
fifteen-minute  divisions.  At  the  close  of  the 
week  summarize  the  record  and  indicate  the 
following : 

(a)  The  number  of  your  activities  which 
were  related  to  other  people. 

(b)  The  percentage  of  your  activities  which 
were  related  to  other  people,  as  com- 
pared with  the  percentage  of  activities 
which  were  individualistic. 


THE  SOCIAL  NATURE  OF  MAN  7 

2.  Construct  a  chart  of  the  three  human  in- 
stincts on  the  following  plan : 


Instinct. 


1.    Instinct  of  self- 
preservation. 


Instinct  of  self- 
perpetuation. 


Physical  manifesta- 
tion, or  reflex 
acts,  related  to  the 
instinct. 


1.  Sucking. 

2.  Swallowing. 

3.  Flight. 

4.  Fighting,  etc. 


Psychic  state  or 

emotion 
accompanying 

the  act. 


1.  Hunger. 

2.  Fear. 

3.  Anger,  etc. 


3.    Instinct  of  self- 
assertion. 


3.  State  in  your  own  words  what  you  think 
the  following  words  mean:  (a)  instinct,  (b) 
reflex  act,  (c)  emotion,  (d)  impulse. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  AND  THE  COM- 
^  MUNITY 

Social  cooperation  leads  directly  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  certain  units  in  which  people  live 
under  common  laws  and  follow  common  cus- 
toms. Social  regard  increases  as  the  members 
of  the  human  family  become  more  and  more 
interdependent.  The  process  of  increasing 
social  regard  follows  the  course  of : 

The  individual's  regard  for  his  relatives: 
Family. 

The  individual's  regard  for  his  neighbors: 
Neighborhood. 

The  individual's  regard  for  those  living 
within  the  same  local  area  of  law  and 
custom :  Community. 

The  individual's  regard  for  the  political  asso- 
ciation of  communities:  The  State  or  Na- 
tion. 

The  individual's  regard  for  all  members  of 
the  human  family:  The  World. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  man  may  arrive  at 
a  stage  of  socialization  which  embraces  the 


THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  9 


whole  human  family  unless  he  has  experienced 
fully  the  relationships  involved  in  the  preceding 
systems  of  regard.  The  community,  which  is  an 
aggregate  of  families,  is  the  vital  unit  of  society 
in  which  the  individual  secures  his  education, 
receives  his  standards  of  health  and  morality, 
expresses  his  recreational  tendencies  and  labors 
to  earn  his  share  of  worldly  goods.  The  neigh- 
borhood is  also  an  aggregate  of  families  but 
with  this  distinction :  the  community  is  an  organ- 
ized unit  with  institutions  having  specific  func- 
tions, while  the  neighborhood  is  merely  the 
group  of  families  living  within  an  acquaintance 
area. 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  define 
a  community.  These  definitions  may  be  classi- 
fied as  follows : 

1.  The  geographic  community.  A  descrip- 
tion of  a  community  in  terms  of  land  area. 
Thus  an  incorporated  village  with  defi- 
nite boundaries,  a  township,  a  county, 
may  be  described  as  a  community. 

2.  The  political  community.  A  description 
of  a  community  based  upon  its  system  of 
government.  According  to  this  type  of 
definition,  a  community  consists  of  the 
people  who  live  under  the  laws  of  the 
smallest  political  unit. 

3.  The  social  community.  A  description  of 
a  community  based  upon  the  group  which 


10 


THE  COMMUNITY 


maintains  a  system  of  social  intercourse. 
This  definition  includes  all  of  the  people 
who  congregate  or  associate  for  sociable 
purposes. 

4.  The  economic  community.  A  description 
of  a  community  based  upon  common  eco- 
nomic processes.  This  definition  is  fre- 
quently called  the  "trade  center"  theory 
of  the  community.  It  implies  that  the  eco- 
nomic processes  determine  the  other  inter- 
ests of  life,  and  that  the  community  con- 
sists of  the  people  who  are  attached  to  a 
common  economic  center. 

5.  The  psychological  community.  A  de- 
scription of  a  community  based  upon  like- 
mindedness.  This  definition  implies  that 
the  real  community  does  not  exist  until 
there  is  a  consciousness  of  group  adher- 
ence. In  other  words,  there  must  be  a 
certain  homogeneity  of  mind  before  a  real 
community  comes  into  being. 

The  student  should  analyze  the  following 
definitions  of  a  community: 

UA  community  consists  of  a  group  or  com- 
pany of  people  living  fairly  closely  together  in 
a  more  or  less  compact,  contiguous  territory, 
who  are  coming  to  act  together  in  the  chief 
concerns  of  life." — R.  E.  Hieronymus. 

"We  must  not  confuse  a  'community'  with  a 
'neighborhood.'  A  neighborhood  is  simply  a 
group  of  families  living  conveniently  near 
together.    The  neighborhood  can  do  a  great 


THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  11 


many  things,  but  it  is  not  a  community.  A  true 
community  is  a  social  group  that  is  more  or  less 
self-sufficing.  It  is  big  enough  to  have  its  own 
centers  of  interest — its  trading  center,  its  social 
center,  its  own  church,  its  own  schoolhouse,  its 
own  grange,  its  own  library,  and  to  possess  such 
other  institutions  as  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity need.  It  is  something  more  than  a  mere 
aggregation  of  families.  There  may  be  several 
neighborhoods  in  a  community.  A  community 
is  the  smallest  social  unit  that  will  hold  to- 
gether. Theoretically,  a  community  could  live 
unto  itself;  though  that  would  be  actually  im- 
possible, just  as  it  is  impossible  for  an  indi- 
vidual to  live  really  a  hermit.  A  community  is 
a  sort  of  individualized  group  of  people.  It  is 
both  the  smallest  and  the  largest  number  of 
people  that  can  constitute  a  real  social  unit. 
It  is  a  sort  of  family  of  families." — Kenyon  L. 
Butterfield. 

UA  study  of  any  (rural)  community  reveals 
first  the  indefiniteness  of  its  boundaries.  One 
may  have  civil  districts,  townships,  towns,  but 
within  each  of  these  there  may  be  communities. 
Each  may,  and  in  fact  does,  merge  more  or 
less  into  neighboring  communities.  It  is  diffi- 
cult, therefore,  to  define  exactly  what  a  rural 
community  is.  One  would  say  that  it  is  com- 
posed of  a  more  or  less  well  defined  group  of 
neighbors  having  many  interests  in  common. 
A  community  cannot  be  given  rigid  boundaries, 
It  is  a  flexible  organism.  One  speaks  of  a  com- 
munity center,  but  this  does  not  imply  a  geo- 


12  THE  COMMUNITY 


graphic  center  with  definite  lines  of  given  radius. 
A  community  center  is  rather  the  headquarters 
of  a  local  interest  and  may  be  very  much  to  one 
side  of  a  district  or  other  civil  boundary.  Com- 
munity implies  neighborhood,  but  here  again 
we  have  a  word  that  may  be  expanded  or  re- 
stricted at  will." — E.  L.  Morgan. 

"A  (rural)  community  consists  of  the  people 
in  a  local  area  tributary  to  the  center  of  their 
common  interests.  The  community  is  the 
smallest  geographical  unit  of  organized  associa- 
tion of  the  chief  human  activities.  The  com- 
munity, however,  is  not  an  area,  nor  an  aggre- 
gation or  association,  but  rather  a  corporate 
state  of  mind  of  those  living  in  a  local  area. 
Most  communities  have  within  them  several 
neighborhoods,  where  a  number  of  homes  are 
clustered  together,  possibly  around  a  school, 
church,  or  mill,  but  with  only  one — if  any — 
center  of  interest.  The  community  is  an  area 
in  which  at  least  several  of  the  more  funda- 
mental human  interests  find  organized  expres- 
sion, at,  or  near-by,  a  common  center." — 
Dwight  Sanderson. 

"A  community  is  an  idea  whose  function  is 
a  definite  territorial  area,  whose  superstructure 
is  a  set  of  like  interests  consciously  recognized 
as  common  interests,  essential  among  which  are 
votes,  education  and  work;  and  whose  soul  is 
the  sense  of  fellowship  and  association  for 
mutual  aid.  It  is  not  an  act  but  a  process.  It 
is  not  made  by  law  but  created  by  education. 
The  degree  of  its  work  in  any  given  place  is 


THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  13 


determined  by  the  kind  and  number  of  right 
relationships  established  among  the  members 
of  such  a  political  unit." — Henry  E.  Jackson. 

"The  (rural)  community  should  be  defined 
as  a  group  of  farms  served  by  the  same  primary 
trade  center.  Other  rural  social  areas  held  to- 
gether by  one  or  two  common  interests  are 
neighborhoods  and  not  communities  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  term.  The  primary  center  is  that 
town  or  village  where  a  farm  family  buys  the 
primary  necessities  of  life  in  the  way  of  food, 
clothing,  etc.,  and  meets  neighbors  and  acquaint- 
ances for  ordinary  business  and  social  relation- 
ships. The  secondary  trade  center  is  the 
larger  and  more  remote  town  or  city  minister- 
ing to  the  exceptional  demands  of  farm  family 
life,  as  through  newspaper  circulation,  courts, 
occasional  lectures,  the  supply  of  ready-made 
garments,  etc." — Mabel  Carney. 

"The  community  consists  of  a  group  of 
people  living  together  in  a  single  locality  and 
bound  together  by  common  interests.  They  are 
also  subject  to  common  laws." — A.  W.  Dunn. 

"The  word  'community'  implies  an  associa- 
tion of  people  having  common  interests  and 
common  possessions,  bound  together  by  laws 
and  regulations  which  express  these  common 
interests  and  ideals  and  define  the  relation  of 
the  individual  to  the  community." — George  W. 
Russell. 

"The  community  is  a  form  of  social  grouping 
that  lies  midway  between  the  neighborhood  and 
the  state  or  nation.    It  lacks  the  immediate 


14  THE  COMMUNITY 


face-to-face  association  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  it  does  not  have  the  completeness  and  self- 
sufficiency  that  characterizes  the  nation  or  the 
state.  In  American  life  the  term  'community' 
generally  connotes  a  group  living  within  a 
rather  closely  prescribed  geographical  area,  the 
members  of  which  are  bound  together  by  the 
necessity  or  convenience  of  fulfilling  certain 
essential  needs  in  a  cooperative  way.  Local 
government  is  probably  the  most  distinguishing 
feature  of  a  community." — C.  C.  North. 

"The  very  definition  of  community  is  a  body 
of  men  who  have  things  in  common,  who  are 
conscious  that  they  have  things  in  common.  A 
community  is  unthinkable,  unless  you  have  a 
vital  inter-relationship  of  parts.  There  must  be 
such  a  contact  as  will  constitute  union  itself  be- 
fore you  will  have  the  true  course  of  the  whole- 
some blood  through  the  body." — Woodrow 
Wilson. 

With  these  various  viewpoints  in  mind,  it 
should  be  possible  to  construct  a  workable  idea 
of  a  community.  At  least,  it  is  possible  to  know 
the  attributes  of  an  ideal  community,  and  this 
will  afford  a  basis  for  studying  the  community 
in  which  the  student  lives.  Ideal  communities 
do  not,  of  course,  exist.  An  ideal  community 
should  furnish  to  its  human  constituents : 

i.  Order,  or  security  of  life  and  property 
through  the  medium  of  an  efficient  govern- 
ment. 


THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  15 


2.  Economic  well-being,  or  security  of  in- 
come through  an  efficient  system  of  pro- 
ductive industry. 

3.  Physical  well-being,  or  health  and  sanita- 
tion through  public  health  agencies. 

4.  Constructive  use  of  leisure  time,  or  recrea- 
tion through  organized  and  directed  play. 

5..  Ethical  standards,  or  a  system  of  morality 
supported  by  the  organized  community. 

6.  Intellectual  diffusion,  or  education  through 
free  and  public  institutions  within .  the 
reach  of  all. 

7.  Free  avenues  of  expression,  or  means  by 
which  all  the  elements  of  the  community 
might  freely  express  themselves;  free 
newspapers  and  public  forums. 

8.  Democratic  forms  of  organization,  or 
community  -  wide  organization  through 
which  the  entire  community  might  express 
its  thought  and  see  that  its  will  is  done. 

9.  Spiritual  motivation,  or  religious  associa- 
tions which  might  diffuse  throughout  all 
forms  of  community  organization  the  reli- 
gious or  spiritual  motive. 


STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Why  is  an  army  camp  not  a  community? 

2.  Construct  your  own  definition  of  a  com- 
munity. 


16  THE  COMMUNITY 

3.  Devise  a  community  score-card,  using  as 
many  points  for  scoring  as  you  think  desir- 
able. After  the  score-card  is  completed, 
tabulate  the  scores  and  the  total  score  for 
your  community. 

4.  Write  a  description  of  the  neighborhood  in 
which  you  live. 

5.  Write  a  brief  historical  and  descriptive 
sketch  of  the  community  in  which  you  live. 


CHAPTER  III 


COMMUNITY  INSTITUTIONS  AND  THEIR 
FUNCTIONS 

It  is  customary  to  divide  community  institu- 
tions into  two  groups:  the  primary  and  the 
secondary  institutions.  The  attributes  of  a  pri- 
mary group  are : 

1.  Stability. 

2.  Intimate  social  unity. 

The  family  and  the  neighborhood  are  usually 
regarded  as  the  two  primary  groups  of  our 
society.  It  is  in  these  groups  that  the  child  re- 
ceives its  first  social  experiences.  These  two 
groups  are  more  stable  than  other  forms  of 
association.  In  fact,  other  forms  of  associa- 
tion arise  out  of  the  elements  of  the  family  and 
the  neighborhood. 

Another  method  of  considering  institutions 
is  to  regard  some  of  them  as  component  and 
others  as  constituent  groups.  The  component 
group  is  genetic;  it  offers  the  basis  for  propa- 
gating the  race.  The  constituent  group  is  vol- 
untary; it  is  an  association  of  people  for  certain 


18  THE  COMMUNITY 


purposes.  The  only  true  component  group  is 
the  family  and  all  other  forms  of  human  or- 
ganization must  be  considered  as  being  con- 
stituent, inasmuch  as  we  are  not  born  into  them 
but  must  in  some  manner  join  them  voluntarily. 
These  two  types  of  association  may  be  defined 
in  broad  terms  as  follows : 

1.  Component  groups:  composed  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  ages,  such  as  families,  vil- 
lages, communities,  tribes;  the  more  or 
less  natural  or  genetic  groups. 

2.  Constituent  groups:  voluntary  organiza- 
tions for  carrying  on  a  particular  activity 
or  achieving  a  particular  end  such  as 
churches,  schools,  lodges,  etc. 

In  general  it  has  become  customary  to  con- 
sider the  home,  the  school,  the  church  and  the 
government  as  the  primary  or  essential  institu- 
tions of  a  community  and  all  others,  secondary 
or  supplemental.  The  best  method  of  gaining 
a  conception  of  the  institutional  character  of  a 
modern  community  is  to  study  a  number  of 
typical  institutions  in  connection  with  their  true 
functions. 

The  Family 

The  family  is  often  regarded  as  the  germ  of 
society — the  molecule  of  human  matter  which 
separates  to  form  more  units.    The  organic 


COMMUNITY  INSTITUTIONS  19 


analogy  is  not  scientifically  correct  and  yet  there 
is  a  certain  sense  in  which  it  may  be  applied. 
A  number  of  abnormal  families  in  a  community 
affect  the  character  of  the  entire  community. 
The  family  does  serve  the  function  of  bridging 
the  gap  between  one  generation  and  the  next; 
it  gives  continuity  to  life.  It  is  conceivable, 
however,  that  the  human  race  could  propagate 
itself  without  the  organized  family.  Other 
animals  do  so.  But  some  form  of  the  family 
exists  among  all  peoples,  which  indicates  that 
the  family  must  have  other  functions  in  addition 
to  that  of  propagation  and  continuation  of  the 
race  of  species. 

The  functions  of  the  family  appear  to  be : 

1.  The  propagation  of  the  race. 

2.  To  furnish  food,  shelter  and  defense. 

3.  To  establish  permanent  relations  to  the 
land. 

4.  To  furnish  first  social  experience. 

5.  To  supply  the  basis  of  private  ownership 
of  wealth. 

6.  To  transmit  impulses,  customs,  habits  and 
idea-systems. 

7.  To  begin  the  educational  process. 

8.  To  provide  moral  standards  and  religious 
ideas. 

9.  To  provide  the  basis  for  citizenship. 


20  THE  COMMUNITY 

With  the  development  of  apartment  houses, 
restaurants,  schools,  churches,  clubs,  etc.,  there 
follows  a  change  in  family  function.  Other 
institutions  assume  tasks  which  formerly  be- 
longed to  the  family.  Other  factors  which 
influence  the  modern  family  are :  economic 
changes,  such  as  industrial  work  for  women; 
social  changes  which  elevate  the  position  of 
women  in  society;  and  ethical  changes,  such  as 
the  changing  attitude  toward  divorce. 

Historically  considered,  the  family  has  gone 
through  the  following  stages : 

1.  The  religious  family. 

2.  The  property  family. 

3.  The  romantic  family. 

4.  The  ethical  family. 

It  appears  that  we  are  now  at  work  building 
the  democratic  family.  Adjustments  and  adap- 
tations now  being  forwarded  are : 

1.  Eugenics  and  the  assurance  that  parents 
who  found  a  family  are  physically  fit. 

2.  Maternity  insurance;  financial  reward  and 
care  by  the  state  to  the  mother  of  chil- 
dren. 

3.  Cooperative  housekeeping,  including 
laundering,  canning,  baking,  sewing  and 
cooking. 

4.  Proper  housing. 


COMMUNITY  INSTITUTIONS  21 


5.  Prevention  of  exploitation  of  women  in 
industry. 

6.  Constructive  use  of  leisure  time. 

7.  Democratic  organization  of  the  family, 
based  upon  equal  property  rights,  equal 
political  rights  and  equal  social  rights. 

The  modern  family  is  passing  through  a 
period  of  great  strain  and  stress.  From  the 
sociological  viewpoint,  it  is  highly  important 
that  all  community  institutions  shall  so  function 
as  to  strengthen  the  integrity  of  the  family 
group. 

The  Church 

The  organized  church,  like  the  family,  is  fac- 
ing a  crisis.  As  society  becomes  more  and  more 
complex,  it  becomes  necessary  to  divide  the 
labor  of  its  institutions.  Many  functions, 
formerly  performed  by  the  church,  are  now 
assumed  by  other  agencies. 

The  centrifugal  forces  let  loose  by  the  Prot- 
estant Reformation  have  caused  a  great  mul- 
tiplicity of  sects  and  denominations.  Religious 
prejudices  sink  deeper  than  most  others,  and 
many  communities  are  now  incapable  of  good 
social  cooperation  because  of  religious  differ- 
ences and  religious  feuds. 


22  THE  COMMUNITY 


In  its  desire  to  play  an  important  role  in  the 
community,  the  church  frequently  commits 
great  social  errors.  Most  of  these  errors  may 
be  traced  to  a  lack  of  understanding  regarding 
the  division  of  labor  among  social  institutions, 
and  to  the  absence  of  clear  and  definitely  stated 
functions  of  the  church.  The  division  of  labor 
among  institutions  must  inevitably  continue;  the 
course  of  events  cannot  be  reversed  by  having 
the  church  reassume  functions  legitimately  lost 
in  the  process  of  social  evolution. 

Viewed  from  the  sociological  standpoint,  the 
function  of  the  modern  church  might  be  stated 
as  follows : 

1.  The  church  should  teach  fundamental  re- 
ligion. 

2.  The  church  should  interpret  religious 
literature  in  terms  of  modern  life  and  its 
problems. 

3.  The  church  should  act  as  a  social  unifier 
in  the  community. 

4.  The  church  should  apply  its  ethico-reli- 
gious  principles  to  the  prevailing  indus- 
trial, political,  recreational,  and  educa- 
tional life  of  the  community. 

5.  The  church  should  furnish  inspiration  for 
all  worthy  community  endeavors. 


COMMUNITY  INSTITUTIONS  23 


6.  The  church  should  assist  in  training  and 
furnishing  the  leadership  for  worthy  com- 
munity institutions  and  movements. 

The  church  is  or  ought  to  be  equipped  to 
perform  the  above-mentioned  functions.  If 
they  were  to  be  adequately  performed,  the 
community  life  would  be  motivated  by  a  distinct 
spiritual  incentive.  Most  communities  have 
sufficient  social  machinery;  the  church  should 
furnish  the  spiritual  forces  to  give  both  motive 
power  and  direction  to  the  machinery's  opera- 
tion. 

The  Community  Ideal  for  All  Institutions 

Institutionalism  is  in  itself  a  menace  to  com- 
munity improvement.  When  an  institution 
functions  primarily  to  enhance  its  own  welfare 
and  growth,  it  is  certain  in  the  end  to  jeopardize 
the  interests  of  the  community  as  a  whole.  This 
presents  one  of  the  chief  problems  of  democ- 
racy. How  can  we  secure  efficient  institutions 
which  will  at  the  same  time  contribute  to  the 
welfare  of  the  community? 

An  institution  which  is  to  function  properly 
in  the  democratic  community  must  be  inclusive 
rather  than  exclusive.  It  must  not  run  parallel 
to  class  lines;  it  must  cut  across  the  lines  of 


24  THE  COMMUNITY 


class-cleavage.  Mere  institutionalism  quickly 
becomes  organized  selfishness.  One  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  social  progress  is  that 
social  advancement  must  occur  in  all  phases  of 
life.  Advancing  one  phase  beyond  others  en- 
dangers all  others.  When  an  institution  comes 
to  think  more  of  its  own  advancement  than  of 
the  advancement  of  the  community,  it  is  out  of 
harmony  with  true  progress. 

The  Twentieth  Century  witnessed  the  rise  of 
numerous  institutions.  In  their  struggles  for 
existence,  many  of  these  institutions  became 
competitive.  The  time  of  reckoning  has  now 
come  and  there  is  a  wide-spread  feeling  that  all 
human  institutions  must  reconstruct  their  pro- 
grams in  accordance  with  the  community  ideal. 


STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  What  functions  do  you  think  the  family 
should  lose?    State  reasons. 

2.  Describe  a  plan  whereby  the  churches  in  your 
community  might  cooperate  to  serve  the  en- 
tire community. 

3.  How  could  such  an  institution  as  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  become  a  com- 
munity institution? 


COMMUNITY  INSTITUTIONS  25 

Name  and  describe  all  the  institutions  in 
your  community. 

Do  you  believe  that  all  of  the  institutions  of 
your  community  should  cooperate?  If  so, 
state  a  plan  of  organization  for  such  co- 
operation. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP 

The  life  of  an  individual  is  most  vitally- 
affected  by  the  group  in  which  he  most  vitally 
lives.  This  group  varies  with  the  increasing 
age  of  the  individual.  The  essential  social 
functioning  of  a  community  is  performed  by, 
and  through,  these  vital-interest  groups.  Such 
a  group  is  one  in  which  the  individual  feels  him- 
self vitally  included;  the  group  which  gives  the 
individual  the  full  sense  of  "belonging."  In 
adult  society  there  frequently  occurs  a  conflict 
of  interest  groups,  a  division  of  loyalty  which 
makes  it  difficult  to  determine  which  group  is 
most  vitally  affecting  the  individual.  But,  even 
in  complex  communities,  with  numerous  organi- 
zations and  interest  groups,  the  individual  ulti- 
mately finds  his  most  vital  expression  in  a  single 
group. 

Considered  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  growing 
or  developing  individual,  the  normal  community 
groups  belonging  to  this  discussion  are: 

1.  The  Home  or  Family  Group. 

2.  The  Neighborhood  Group. 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  27 


3.  The  Play  Group. 

4.  The  School  Group. 

5.  The  Church  Group. 

6.  The  Work  Group. 

7.  The  Service  Group. 

The  origin,  functioning,  and  structure  of 
these  groups  should  be  a  part  of  the  community 
leader's  knowledge.  These  groups  not  only 
represent  the  standards  of  the  community  in 
culture,  in  success,  and  in  creativeness,  but  they 
undoubtedly  give  to  the  community  its  essential 
character.  It  is  out  of  these  groups  and  by  com- 
plexes of  these  groups  that  most  other  forms  of 
organized  effort  in  the  community  proceed. 

The  Home  or  Family  Group 

The  home  group,  in  which  the  child  makes 
his  first  social  discoveries  and  has  his  first  social 
experiences,  is  his  most  vital  group  for  the  first 
three  years  of  life.  Under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, the  influence  of  the  home  begins  to 
wane  after  the  third  year.  This  does  not  in- 
dicate that  the  home  loses  its  influence  over  the 
individual  entirely;  this  does  occur,  of  course, 
in  certain  cases,  but  these  must  be  regarded  as 
pathological  instances. 

There  are  many  indications  in  the  language 
of  the  child  which  show  the  grip  which  his  home 


28 


THE  COMMUNITY 


group  has  upon  him.  When,  for  example,  the 
child  discovers  some  new  custom  or  manner  in 
a  visited  home  and  he  immediately  cries  out, 
"Oh,  we  don't  do  that  way  at  our  house!"  it  is 
quite  evident  that  the  child  is  judging  all  habits, 
customs,  manners,  etc.,  by  the  standard  of  his 
own  family  group.  His  experience  has  not 
radiated  beyond  this  group  and  naturally  it 
forms  his  only  basis  of  judgment.  It  may  be 
safe  to  assume  that  so  long  as  the  child  com- 
pares, unfavorably,  other  social  habits  to  those 
of  his  family,  he  is  living  most  vitally  in  the 
home  group.  Conversely,  when  he  begins  to 
apply  the  standards  of  other  groups  to  his 
family  group,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  home 
group  has  begun  to  lose  some  of  its  vital  or 
paramount  influence.  The  transition  from  the 
home-group  standards  to  broader  standards 
constitutes  an  important  phase  of  growth.1 

In  an  age  *in  which  social  standards  are  in 
flux,  when  the  stability  of  codes  of  behavior  is 
threatened,  the  transition  from  home  to 
broader  standards  presents  a  series  of  danger- 
ous possibilities.  If  the  family  group  is  at- 
tempting to  maintain  a  system  of  behavior 

1  The  student  will  note  that  this  text  differs  from  that  of  most  books 
which  deal  with  the  development  of  the  child.  The  biological  or  physio- 
logical changes  have  received  sufficient,  if  not  undue,  emphasis  in 
books  on  child  life.  What  is  here  attempted  is  a  sociological  and  a 
psychological  analysis.  Ultimately  the  physiological  adjustments, 
which  have  received  so  much  attention,  are  important  because  they 
result  in  changes  of  social  conduct. 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  29 


which  is  not  in  harmony  with  the  changes  going 
on  elsewhere,  the  children  of  the  family  will  be 
sorely  tempted.  The  so-called  "good,"  or 
"best,"  families  are  usually  the  ones  which  can- 
not bear  the  strain  of  transition.  It  is  in  such 
families  that  the  greatest  tragedies  occur,  for 
when  the  static  and  impossible  standard  of  such 
a  group  is  abandoned,  it  is  likely  to  be  absolute 
abandonment. 

In  a  true  neighborhood  or  an  integrated  com- 
munity, it  would  be  possible  to  obviate  the 
dangers  attending  the  waning  influence  of  the 
home.  The  parents  of  children  in  such  a  com- 
munity would  know  that  the  home  group  must 
inevitably  lose  its  sole  influence  in  the  child's 
life,  and  they  would  divert  some  of  their  ener- 
gies to  the  creation  of  proper  standards  in  the 
other  groups  of  the  community.  They  would 
not,  as  now  so  often  happens,  embitter  their 
children  by  contending  for  a  strict  adherence  to 
the  family-group  standards,  which  to  the  chil- 
dren has  become  an  impossibility. 


The  Neighborhood  Group 

The  neighborhood  group  consists  of  those 
families  within  walking  distance  of  the  home  of 
any  particular  individual.  It  is  made  up  of 
both  children  and  adults.    It  begins  to  make  its 


30  THE  COMMUNITY 


impact  upon  the  life  of  the  child  about  the  third 
year.  This,  of  course,  varies  with  the  precocity 
of  the  child  and  with  the  nature  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. In  a  rural  community  where  the  neigh- 
boring families  are  separated  by  distances  of 
from  one-fourth  to  two  miles,  the  child  will  not 
make  vital  neighborhood  contacts  as  early  as 
in  the  third  year. 

The  first  noticeable  shift  in  emphasis  begins 
to  manifest  itself  in  the  speech  of  the  child. 
He  reverses  his  former  method  of  comparing 
other  homes  to  his;  he  now  compares  other 
homes  with  others. 

Children  frequently  develop  quaint  or  pe- 
culiar modes  of  expression  such  as  the  broad  or 
the  flat  sounding  of  the  letter  "a."  Within  the 
family  group,  this  habit  or  peculiarity  of  speech 
is  regarded  as  worthy  of  admiration.  At  any 
rate,  it  is  not  discouraged.  When  such  manner- 
isms are  displayed  in  the  presence  of  the  neigh- 
borhood group,  they  attract  attention;  perhaps 
they  are  made  the  object  of  ridicule.  This 
immediately  causes  the  child  to  begin  a  series  of 
tests  for  his  behavior. 

He  now  makes  conscious  or  unconscious  ef- 
forts to  approximate  the  standards  of  the  neigh- 
borhood group.  The  home  group  is  no  longer 
the  absolute  and  the  final  authority  in  his  system 
of  behavior.    In  rapid  succession  the  neighbor- 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  31 


hood  imposes  upon  the  child  a  series  of  stand- 
ards which  vary  slightly  or  markedly  from  the 
standards  of  his  home.  The  simple  discipline 
of  the  home  will  no  longer  suffice.  What 
mother  has  not  stood  helpless  before  a  pleading 
child  whose  only  argument  is  the  fact  that  some 
other  child  is  permitted  to  have  the  object  for 
which  he  begs  ? 

Shortsighted  parents  are  jealous  of  their 
prerogatives.  They  do  not  understand  that  the 
child  must  ultimately  find  himself  in  larger 
social  circles  and  that  he  is  now  making  those 
stumbling,  halting  adjustments  which  will  either 
make  or  mar  his  future  social  success.  To 
stubbornly  resist  these  adjustments  is  to  reveal 
a  weakness  which  the  child  will  eventually  utilize 
in  destroying  the  authority  of  the  home. 

The  Play  Group 

The  play  group  is  distinguished  from  the 
neighborhood  group  in  the  respect  that  it  is 
constituted  of  persons  of  the  same  general  age, 
while  the  neighborhood  group  is  made  up  of 
families  or  of  persons  of  all  ages. 

If  the  adult  could  secure  the  viewpoint  of 
play  the  child  has,  he  would  no  doubt  be 
thoroughly  convinced  of  its  vital  nature.  In 
this  sphere  of  life,  the  child  makes  his  own 
choices.    He  may  walk  blocks  away  to  find 


32  THE  COMMUNITY 


playmates,  overlooking  entirely  those  who  live 
next  door.  When  he  is  old  enough  to  make 
conscious  choices  of  playmates,  he  enters  a 
social  relationship  which  is  destined  to  be  more 
powerful  in  shaping  his  character  and  his  per- 
sonality than  any  other  force,  with  the  doubtful 
exception  of  hereditary  tendencies. 

It  may  also  be  stated  that  the  choices  which 
human  beings  of  all  ages  make,  when  they  are 
free  from  compulsion,  determine  their  essential 
characters. 

The  play  group  becomes,  naturally,  the  most 
vital  group  with  which  the  child  becomes  affili- 
ated. This  group  becomes  the  laboratory  in 
which  the  entire  ethical  system  of  home,  school 
and  church  is  tested  and  the  weaknesses  and 
the  strengths  of  the  human  metal  are  brought 
to  the  surface.  This  is  the  child's  world,  a 
world  which  we  grown-ups  may  enter  only 
through  the  imagination,  or  by  the  miracle  of 
that  rare  memory  which  recaptures  the  intensity 
of  childhood  days. 

The  neuro-muscular  coordination  which  will 
control  so  much  of  future  bodily  activity;  the 
degrees  of  mental  alertness  which  distinguish 
between  the  mediocre  and  those  who  have  great 
desires;  the  senses  of  hearing,  seeing,  smelling, 
feeling,  which  limit  real  enjoyment  of  life; 
those  subtle  psychological  processes  which  de- 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  33 


termine  the  selfish  or  the  cooperative  career; — 
all  of  these  factors  of  life  receive  their  deter- 
mining tendency  during  the  periods  of  life 
when  play  is  the  most  important  and  the  most 
vital  element  of  existence.  To  provide  a  sound 
environment  for  these  natural  play  groups  is 
the  beginning  of  a  scientific  program  of 
progress. 

The  School  Group 
The  school  group  is  not  so  absorbing  as  the 
play  group;  it  does  not  grip  the  vital  interests 
of  the  child  in  the  same  manner,  or  in  the  same 
degree.  There  are,  of  course,  instances  when 
the  play  group  and  the  school  group  become 
synonymous.  Or  there  are  instances  where  the 
play  group  is  merely  a  division  of  the  school 
group.  The  school  group  must,  however,  be 
considered  apart  from  those  groups  already 
discussed. 

The  school  takes  the  child  at  an  early  age. 
It  demands  a  goodly  portion  of  his  waking 
hours.  It  gives  direction  to  his  mental  pro- 
cesses. It  is,  nevertheless,  an  arbitrary  group 
in  which  the  child  is  participator  but  not  direc- 
tor. His  regimen  is  constructed  by  his  su- 
periors. (In  high  schools  and  colleges  there 
are  attempts  at  self-government,  but  a  study  of 
these  systems  of  student  government  reveals 


34  THE  COMMUNITY 


the  fact  that  they  have  to  do  with  certain  stand- 
ards of  behavior  which  have  originated  in  the 
minds  of  the  teachers  rather  than  of  the  stu- 
dents.) There  are  few  opportunities  in  the 
schoolroom  for  conscious  and  individual 
choices.  The  school  playground  does  offer 
such  opportunities  in  some  degree,  but  it  is 
worthy  of  notice  that  when  children  are  left  to 
themselves  on  the  playground,  they  very  quickly 
begin  forming  natural  groups  in  which  they  take 
a  much  more  vital  interest  than  in  the  entire 
school  group.  In  brief,  the  school  group  is  an 
arbitrary  group.  It  cannot  in  the  very  nature 
of  things  be  as  vitally  important  as  the  play 
group.  When  the  social  sciences  are  applied  in 
education,  there  will  undoubtedly  be  attempts  at 
creating  within  the  school  group  a  number  of 
natural  vital-interest  groups  in  which  the  chil- 
dren may  live  freely. 

Artificial  standards  of  dress  and  social  cus- 
tom can  be  greatly  modified  by  the  school. 
This  function  of  the  school  may  be  extended  in 
the  future.  This  depends  upon  a  more  direct 
and  cooperative  relationship  between  school 
and  home  than  is  now  prevalent  in  this  country. 

The  Church  Group 
To  certain  types  of  mind,  the  church  group 
is  a  determining  factor.    Like  the  school  it  is 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  35 


an  arbitrary  grouping.  The  child  seldom  makes 
conscious  choices  in  regard  to  his  church  group. 
He  attends  the  church  school  which  is  attached 
to  the  church  of  his  parents.  There  may  or 
may  not  be  in  his  class  members  of  his  natural 
group.  There  is  in  the  child's  nature  a  growing 
sense  of  worship  and  of  mysticism  which  the 
ceremony  of  the  church  may  satisfy.  Educa- 
tionally the  church  has  in  the  Sunday  school  a 
system  of  religious  instruction  based  chiefly 
upon  the  Bible.  All  of  this  is  important  in  the 
child's  life,  but  our  system  of  religious  education 
falls  short  of  its  possibilities.  Too  often 
it  runs  counter  to  all  the  instincts  and  urges  of 
the  child's  nature  and  his  social  environment! 

Unless  the  church  group  is  based  upon  a 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  child,  his  impulses 
and  instincts,  it  cannot  play  its  proper  role  in 
modern  life.  And  yet,  despite  its  weaknesses, 
the  church  group  is  one  of  the  most  vital  and 
powerful  associations  of  life. 

The  Work  Group 

In  rural  communities  children  are  thrown 
into  contact  with  work  groups  at  an  early  age. 
In  city  communities,  children  often  experience 
direct  contacts  with  work  groups  during  vaca- 
tion periods.   A  search  through  a  large  number 


36  THE  COMMUNITY 


of  autobiographies  and  biographies  reveals  the 
fact  that  the  work  group  is  usually  accredited 
with  an  influence  comparable  only  to  the  family 
and  to  the  play  group,  or  "gang." 

There  is  a  certain  psychology  of  behavior 
accompanying  every  vocation.  The  itinerant 
farm  laborer,  for  instance,  perpetuates  a  type 
of  behavior  which  is  peculiar  to  that  vocation. 
When  the  farm  girl,  or  the  farm  boy,  is  thrown 
into  contact  with  the  itinerant  farm  worker,  a 
new  phase  of  life  is  opened.  This  contact 
comes  into  the  life  of  the  young  person  with  a 
certain  force  of  impact,  which  is  the  stronger 
because  accompanied  by  an  adventurous  lure. 
At  first,  the  language  of  the  work  group  seems 
quaint,  and  then  interesting,  and  then  imitable. 
Slowly,  and  usually  quite  unconsciously,  the 
young  person  accumulates  the  habits  of  speech 
and  the  customs  of  the  group  with  which  he 
spends  his  working  hours. 

There  will  some  day  arise  an  industrial  psy- 
chology which  will  recognize  the  tremendous 
importance  of  the  influence  of  the  work  group. 
Attempts  have  already  been  made  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  Young  Men's  and  the  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations  have  indus- 
trial programs  which  are  based  upon  the  theory 
that  the  work  group  is  the  vital  group  in  the 
lives  of  most  young  people.   Welfare  programs 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  37 


in  industry  have  their  origin  in  the  belief  that 
the  employer  can  elevate  social  and  moral 
standards  by  certain  forms  of  leisure-time  ac- 
tivities in  the  spheres  of  health,  recreation,  edu- 
cation, etc.  As  industry  comes  more  and  more 
under  the  sway  of  the  democratic  theory,  these 
programs  will  increase  in  importance.  They 
will  then,  of  course,  arise  from  the  work  groups 
rather  than  from  the  employer  group. 

The  Service  Group 

Human  beings,  at  least  those  whom  we  call 
normal,  eventually  associate  with  like-minded 
individuals  in  some  form  of  organization  which 
will  give  expression  to  the  altruistic  impulses. 
The  service  group  includes  that  wide  category 
of  human  association  which  embraces  secret 
societies,  church  clubs,  chambers  of  commerce, 
merchants'  and  manufacturers'  associations, 
Rotary  Clubs,  Kiwanis  Clubs,  and  that  vast 
array  of  organizations  which  are  intended  to 
serve  the  individual  and  society.  It  is  probable 
that  the  word  "service"  does  not  adequately 
describe  the  type  of  association  which  is  now 
being  discussed. 

In  every  community  there  are  associations  of 
people,  more  or  less  selective  in  character, 
which  offer  to  the  individual  an  opportunity  to 

4  \  \  4  4 


38  THE  COMMUNITY 


exercise  the  social  virtues,  loyalty  and  "team 
play."  So  numerous  have  such  associations 
become  in  many  communities  that  the  person 
who  affiliates  with  a  number  of  them  is  com- 
monly called  a  "joiner."  This  expressive  word 
throws  light  on  the  character  of  such  forms  of 
association.  The  joiner  is  a  person  who  has  an 
overflow  of  fraternal  impulse.  His  desires  for 
doing  good  are  not  limited  by  membership  in 
one  organization.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
organizations  belonging  to  this  classification  are 
based  upon  high  idealism  and  spiritualized 
ritual,  it  frequently  happens  that  they  are 
utilized  for  selfish  purposes. 

The  important  point  for  this  discussion  is  to 
determine  how  firm  is  the  grip  which  these  or- 
ganizations have  upon  their  members.  In  some 
complex  communities,  the  aggregate  of  such 
associations  constitutes  a  super-government. 
Membership  in  them  is  more  vital  than  citizen- 
ship, and  great  civic  enterprises  often  depend 
upon  the  support  of  these  organizations  for 
their  success. 


STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

I.  Write  a  brief  autobiography  in  which  you 
describe  the  development  of  your  person- 
ality in  terms  of  the  vital-interest  groups  to 
which  you  have  belonged. 


THE  VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP  39 

2.  At  what  age  do  the  children  of  your 
acquaintance  seem  to  experience  a  diminish- 
ing respect  for  the  authority  of  the  home? 

3.  Describe  a  play  group  in  your  community. 

4.  Describe  a  school  group  in  your  community. 

5.  Describe  a  church  group  in  your  community. 

6.  Describe  a  work  group  in  your  community. 

7.  Describe  a  service  group  in  your  community. 

8.  Make  a  list  of  all  the  service  groups  in  your 
community  and  state  which  of  them  have  the 
greatest  influence  on  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity. 


CHAPTER  V 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES 

Economic  forces  usually  determine  the  char- 
acter of  the  community.  These  forces  are  so 
powerful  that  communities  in  different  nations, 
radiating  about  certain  economic  influences,  de- 
velop similar  characteristics.  Thus,  Birming- 
ham of  England  and  Pittsburgh  of  the  United 
States  are  known  as  "steel  towns."  This  phrase 
is  significant  in  that  it  indicates  that  these  two 
communities  have  developed  industrially  with 
the  increasing  use  of  steel.  The  similarities  in 
community  life  resulting  from  this  correspond- 
ence in  economic  bases  becomes  apparent  to  the 
observer. 

The  classification  of  types  of  communities  to 
be  used  in  this  text  is : 

A.  Urban  Communities: 

(a)  Industrial. 

(b)  Commercial  (financial). 

(c)  Political. 

B.  Suburban. 

C.  Industrial  Cities  or  Towns. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  41 


D.  Agricultural  Cities  or  Towns. 

E.  Educational  Towns  or  Villages. 

F.  Villages. 

G.  Open  Country  Communities. 

This  is  a  more  or  less  arbitrary  classification 
and  does  not  correspond  to  the  classifications 
used  in  the  Government  Census.  It  is  based, 
not  so  much  upon  the  size  of  the  community  as 
upon  its  chief  economic  background. 

A.    Urban  Communities 

The  urban  or  city  community  depends  upon 
manufacturing,  distribution  of  commodities, 
finance  or  politics  for  its  economic  existence  as 
well  as  its  size.  Although  politics  cannot  be 
scientifically  regarded  as  a  result  of  economic 
forces,  its  movements  tend  to  become  more  and 
more  subject  to  economic  influences,  and,  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  political  or  govern- 
mental communities  must  in  the  future  be  in- 
terpreted economically.  For  the  purposes  of 
distinction  it  may  be  assumed  that  an  urban 
community  is  one  whose  industrial,  commercial, 
or  political  interests  are  so  great  that  its  rela- 
tionship to  the  processes  of  agriculture  is  not  of 
primary  importance.  Of  course,  no  community 
is  entirely  divorced  from  some  relationship  to 
agriculture;    even   those    communities  whose 


42  THE  COMMUNITY 


other  interests  are  paramount  must  depend 
upon  agriculture  for  their  food  supply. 

The  Latin  word  "urbane,"  from  which  the 
word  "urban"  is  derived,  implies  that  the  resi- 
dents of  congested  city  communities  live  under 
a  more  refined  form  of  civilization.  This  im- 
plication tends  to  lose  its  significance  as  the 
avenues  of  communication  bring  rural  peoples 
in  contact  with  the  thought-currents  of  the 
world.  There  is,  however,  a  psychological 
sense  in  which  the  residents  of  urban  or  city 
communities  may  be  distinguished  from  the 
residents  of  communities  who  live  in  greater 
isolation.  The  continuous  social  contacts  of 
city  life  make  social  intercourse  easier;  there  is 
a  city  or  urban  manner. 

(a)  Industrial  Urban  Communities  in  the 
United  States  have  a  tendency  to  center  about 
some  particular  industry  or  group  of  industries. 
Thus  Grand  Rapids  has  come  to  be  a  synonym 
for  furniture  manufacturing;  Detroit  at  once 
suggests  automobiles  and  related  industries; 
Lawrence  is  known  as  a  textile  center.  This 
fact  has  certain  important  sociological  bearings. 
An  industrial  community  in  which  one  particu- 
lar industry  predominates  is  likely  to  attract 
people  of  similar  traits;  where  such  an  industry 
utilizes  foreign  labor,  it  frequently  occurs  that 
the  same  racial  groups  make  up  the  population. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES 


43 


In  periods  of  unemployment,  these  so-called 
"one-industry"  communities  are  likely  to  suffer 
most.  In  such  communities,  it  also  happens 
that  welfare  systems  operated  by  employers  ap- 
pear first.  From  the  viewpoint  of  community 
leadership,  these  communities  present  an  inter- 
esting problem :  the  employers  who  control  the 
particular  industry  are  almost  certain  to  control 
the  balance  of  power  in  community  movements. 
What  transpires  in  such  communities  is  almost 
sure  to  be  considered  in  the  light  of  its  relation 
to  the  controlling  industry. 

What  has  come  to  be  known  as  the  Labor 
Movement  is  traceable  to  the  mass  production 
of  these  larger  industrial  communities.  It  is  in 
these  giant  industries  that  men  lose  their  per- 
sonal relationship  to  their  employers,  where  the 
division  of  labor  proceeds  most  rapidly  and 
where  strained  situations  between  workers  and 
employers  are  most  likely  to  exist.  As  a  con- 
sequence of  these  factors,  such  communities  de- 
velop two  sets  of  leadership:  one  representing 
the  interests  of  the  employer  class  and  the 
"middle"  class,  and  one  representing  the  work- 
ing class.  The  person  who  exercises  either 
professional  or  volunteer  leadership  in  such  a 
community  must  become  cognizant  of  these 
phenomena. 

(b)  Commercial  Urban   Communities  are 


44  THE  COMMUNITY 


scarce.  New  York  City  approaches  this  type 
more  nearly  than  any  other  American  city,  and 
yet  it  cannot  be  said  that  New  York  is  purely  a 
commercial  or  a  distributing  community.  Its 
manufactories  are  vastly  important;  and  when 
considered  in  comparison  to  the  manufacturing 
industries  of  other  communities,  they  present  an 
imposing  mass.  However,  the  dominant  inter- 
ests of  New  York  City,  as  well  as  other  cities 
of  this  type,  are  the  interests  of  the  trader,  the 
investor  and  the  middleman.  One  needs  only 
to  attempt  a  community  project  in  a  city  like 
New  York  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  it  de- 
mands a  different  type  of  leadership.  One  of 
the  outstanding  characteristics  of  a  commer- 
cial city  is  its  sharp  division  of  social  classes; 
here  one  finds  both  extremes  of  wealth  and  of 
poverty.  The  professional  or  middle  class  is 
apt  to  be  of  less  service  to  the  working  class, 
and  hence  to  community  projects.  Many  of 
the  attributes  of  other  communities  are  absent 
in  commercial  cities.  The  type  is,  however,  too 
scarce  to  demand  extended  treatment  in  a  work 
of  this  kind. 

(c)  Political  Urban  Communities  embrace 
county-seats,  state  capitals  and  national  capitals. 
Occasionally,  as,  for  example,  at  Lansing, 
Michigan,  and  Columbus,  Ohio,  a  state  capital 
develops  industrial  and  commercial  interests. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  45 


But  even  in  these  cases  the  political  or  govern- 
mental interests  play  a  most  important  role  in 
community  affairs.  The  type  of  people  who 
originally  make  up  the  population  of  a  political 
or  governmental  community  are  not  likely  to  in- 
duce industrial   or  commercial  development. 

The  capital  of  a  county,  or  the  county-seat, 
plays  an  important  part  in  the  life  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  This  is  especially  true  in  counties 
which  have  no  large  industrial  centers.  The 
influence  of  the  county-seat  is  not  merely  a 
political  one,  but  rather  a  social  and  a  cultural 
one.  During  the  War  the  county  was  looked 
upon  as  the  logical  unit  for  nearly  all  cam- 
paigns. This  had  the  effect  of  increasing  the 
degree  of  county-mindedness  of  our  population. 
The  reaction  immediately  following  the  War 
appeared  to  indicate  a  return  to  greater  interest 
in  local  affairs.  But,  so  long  as  all  legal  matters 
relating  to  property  must  be  transacted  at  the 
county-seat,  and  so  long  as  the  political  com- 
plexion of  a  county  is  determined  by  the  county 
government,  we  may  expect  these  political  com- 
munities to  wield  a  powerful  influence  over  na- 
tional and  community  movements. 

State  capitals  bear  a  similar  relationship  to 
the  population  of  their  respective  states,  al- 
though in  a  less  direct  manner.  One  of  the 
principal  difficulties  in  dealing  with  political 


46  THE  COMMUNITY 


communities  is  the  fact  that  the  socially  im- 
portant people  do  not  consider  themselves  as 
permanent  residents.  They  usually  maintain  a 
dual  citizenship;  one  related  to  their  home  com- 
munities and  one  to  the  temporary  political 
community. 

Our  National  Capital  tends  to  increase  its 
influence  over  the  country  as  a  whole.  Many 
national  movements  and  organizations  now 
maintain  headquarters  at  Washington,  not  be- 
cause it  is  a  centrally  located  city  but  because  of 
the  prestige  which  comes  from  contact  with  offi- 
cials and  departments  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment. Inasmuch  as  there  is  but  one  national 
capital  to  consider,  an  analysis  is  not  essential. 

B.  Suburban  Communities 
The  suburban  community  is  a  recent  type. 
It  has  in  it  elements  of  hope  and  elements  of 
despair.  The  hopeful  thing  about  suburbs  is 
the  fact  that  they  lend  themselves  to  conscious 
planning.  The  population  is  usually  made  up 
of  families  with  more  than  average  economic 
incomes.  Social  institutions  such  as  schools  and 
churches  need  not  depend  upon  the  meager 
taxes  of  the  laboring  man.  Suburbs  present 
available  spaces  for  playgrounds  and  parks; 
dwellings  need  not  be  crowded,  and  streets  may 
be  of  sufficient  width. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  47 


But  the  truly  coordinated  suburban  com- 
munity is  rare.  Again,  its  inhabitants  maintain 
a  dual  citizenship.  Their  chief  economic,  com- 
mercial, or  political  interests  are  elsewhere;  the 
suburban  home  is  merely  a  refuge  from  the  dis- 
advantages of  the  city.  The  population  is 
likely  to  suffer  from  too  much  homogeneity. 
There  is  apt  to  be  a  surfeit  of  leaders  and  a 
dearth  of  followers.  In  many  respects  the  sub- 
urban community  is  a  social  anomaly;  its  social 
organization  is  too  frequently  superficial  and  its 
one-class  solidarity  lacks  enthusiasm.  In  all 
probability,  the  working  people  in  the  suburb 
suffer  from  paternalism ;  they  have  little  or  none 
of  the  joy  of  participation  in  the  community's 
affairs.  It  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that  they 
own  property;  the  servant-class  usually  lives  in 
the  "backyard"  of  the  suburb. 

C.  Industrial  Cities  or  Towns 
The  type  of  community  to  be  considered  in 
this  classification  is  becoming  increasingly  im- 
portant. It  is  not  the  large  industrial  center, 
but  the  small  manufacturing  city  or  town  of 
from  15,000  to  75,000  population,  in  which 
the  major  economic  interests  are  industrial  and 
the  secondary  interests  are  agricultural.  In  this 
type  of  community  there  exists  a  fine  blending 
of  population  types.    The  original  wealth,  now 


48  THE  COMMUNITY 


invested  in  small  industries,  came  from  agri- 
culture. The  larger  proportion  of  the  popula- 
tion has  a  rural  background.  But  the  farmer, 
as  such,  plays  a  diminishing  role,  and  the  busi- 
ness man,  the  employer,  the  banker,  and  the 
professional  men  and  women  are  in  the  as- 
cendancy. 

Excepting  in  the  South,  where  such  com- 
munities are  dominated  by  a  single  industry, 
such  as  cotton  manufacturing,  most  of  the  resi- 
dents own  their  homes.  Families  are  medium 
in  size;  children  are  prized.  School  and  church 
maintain  a  vital  relationship  to  family  life. 
Social  intercourse  is  not  inhibited  by  class  dis- 
tinctions, for  the  son  of  the  worker  is  destined 
to  be  the  business  or  professional  leader  of  the 
next  generation.  A  steady  infiltration  of  rural 
blood  stands  guard  over  the  encroachment  of 
the  social  and  physical  "diseases"  incident  to 
city  breeding.  The  enthusiasm  of  growth 
creates  community  pride. 

Social  organization  in  these  communities  has 
not  yet  produced  the  evils  of  overlapping  and 
duplication.  Opportunities  for  leadership 
abound.  Frequently  these  opportunities  are 
lost  through  the  continuous  use  of  the  same  in- 
dividuals, or  the  same  groups  in  all  community 
projects.  Cities  in  this  category  suffer  most 
from  too  rapid  growth.    So-called  "booster" 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  49 


specialists  in  business  and  land  enterprises 
create  fictitious  values.  The  border-line  itin- 
erants are  attracted.  Housing  conditions  fail 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  increasing  population. 
Agencies  of  social  control  cannot  be  generated 
rapidly  enough  to  meet  changed  conditions  of 
behavior.  In  short,  the  small  industrial  com- 
munity is  led  to  aspire  to  size  at  the  expense  of 
quality.  It  is  not  contented  to  be  a  well-organ- 
ized, well-coordinated  community  of  50,000 
people,  but  sets  its  mark  at  150,000;  when  the 
extra  100,000  have  arrived  the  community 
structure  is  already  broken  down  and  a  new 
foundation  must  be  laid. 

D.  Agricultural  Cities  or  Towns 
The  type  of  urban  community  described 
above  is  one  in  which  the  industrial  and  com- 
mercial interests  are  in  the  ascendancy;  the  type 
to  be  considered  here  is  one  in  which  the  manu- 
facturing or  commercial  interests  are  entirely 
or  largely  dependent  upon  agriculture.  Fre- 
quently communities  in  this  class  have  no  indus- 
tries employing  more  than  fifty  to  one  hundred 
men.  They  consist  of  a  business  center  radiat- 
ing about  one  to  five  banks.  These  banks  are 
the  magnet  points  around  which  the  economic 
life  of  the  community  revolves.  Their  savings 
accounts  are  made  up  of  funds  deposited  by 


50  THE  COMMUNITY 


farmers,  retired  farmers,  merchants,  profes- 
sional men,  and  laborers  in  approximately  the 
order  in  which  these  classes  are  here  named. 

The  prosperity  of  these  communities  rises 
and  falls  with  the  farmer's  fortunes;  if  crops 
are  good  and  prices  satisfactory,  the  small  city 
flourishes,  and  if  crops  are  poor  and  prices  low, 
the  small  city  finds  itself  reflecting  the  pes- 
simism of  the  discouraged  agriculturist.  The 
economic  barometer  of  the  agricultural  city  or 
town  is  the  ratio  between  agricultural  produc- 
tion and  agricultural  prices.  The  banker,  the 
hardware  dealer,  the  implement  salesman,  the 
elevator  owner,  the  live  stock  shipper,  as  well 
as  the  smaller  retail  establishments,  depend 
upon  the  farmer  for  the  life  of  their  trade. 

Communities  of  this  type  contain  a  small 
proportion  of  foreign  population;  at  least  it  is 
usually  removed  one  to  three  generations. 
Ambitious  movements  to  attract  great  indus- 
tries are  attempted,  but  ordinarily  the  residents 
are  content  to  continue  at  a  normal  and  gradual 
rate  of  growth.  Over-churching  is  common  in 
these  communities.  The  school  is  likely  to  be 
out  of  date  and  the  teachers  composed  of  the 
class  who  stand  midway  between  the  good  rural 
teacher  and  the  good  city  teacher.  The  pro- 
fessional leadership,  strangely  enough,  may  be 
of  high  caliber.    The  lawyer  who  has  political 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  51 


ambitions  discovers  that  the  small  agricultural 
city  or  town  is  easily  cultivated.  The  physician 
who  desires  five  to  ten  years  of  general  prac- 
tice, under  conditions  of  low  expense,  finds  the 
small  city  or  town  an  admirable  field.  The 
professional  leadership  is  respected  and 
honored. 

In  many  sections  of  the  country  these  small 
cities  and  towns  are  now  facing  a  crisis.  The 
growing  class-consciousness  of  the  farmers, 
coupled  with  the  phenomenal  increase  -  in 
farmers'  cooperative  organizations,  promise 
to  deprive  these  communities  of  at  least  a  por- 
tion of  their  economic  prestige.  The  psycho- 
logical distinctions  which  develop  when  one 
group  of  persons  lives  by  the  exploitation  of 
another  group  are  now  being  thrown  into  sharp 
relief. 

The  discovery  is  made  that  these  small 
agricultural  cities  or  towns  are  not  organically 
rural.  Many  observers  go  so  far  as  to  say  that 
this  type  of  community  is  in  reality  a  parasite 
upon  the  rural  population.  Slowly  but  appar- 
ently with  inevitable  relentlessness  they  are 
forced  to  abandon  certain  economic  preroga- 
tives. The  cooperative  creamery,  the  coopera- 
tive elevator,  the  cooperative  warehouse  and 
shipping  station  are  forerunners  of  an  eco- 
nomic system  in  which  the  farmer  will  control 


52  THE  COMMUNITY 


his  own  economic  processes.  Will  the  small 
agricultural  city  then  become  the  center  of  the 
rural  community?  It  is  this  question  which  now 
concerns  the  rural  sociologists. 

E.  Educational  Towns  or  Villages 
The  "college  town"  is  an  extraordinary  type 
of  community.  Its  dominant  interest  is  usually 
a  college  or  university  located  purposely  apart 
from  urban  centers.  Industries  and  commercial 
enterprises  are  discouraged.  Social  organiza- 
tion is  seldom  effective.  The  leaders  of  the 
community  are  inclined  to  be  the  academic 
leaders  of  the  college  or  university.  When  this 
is  not  true  there  is  conflict  between  the  educa- 
tional institution  and  the  residents  of  the  com- 
munity. The  academic  leadership  is  weak  be- 
cause it  is  made  up  of  specialists,  each  of  whom 
regards  himself  superior  in  his  own  field.  The 
consequence  of  this  is  a  reluctance  to  submit  to 
leadership  in  other  fields.  During  the  academic 
season  the  life  of  the  community  centers  about 
the  students  and  faculty;  the  remaining  period 
of  the  year  is  one  of  quiet  and  anticipation. 

Because  of  their  numbers,  but  more  because 
of  their  influence  upon  life  in  general,  these 
communities  deserve  attention.  If  good  forms 
of  community  organization  can  be  effectively 
promoted  in  such  communities  it  will  be  an  in- 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  53 


centive  to  the  communities  into  which  students 
go  after  graduation. 

F.  Villages 

The  American  village  is  economic  in  a  sec- 
ondary sense;  it  is  primarily  cultural.  The 
small  population  center  with  200  to  1000  in- 
habitants performs  some  very  essential  eco- 
nomic functions.  In  addition  to  its  retail  stores 
it  may  support  a  small  bank  which  acts  as  a 
savings  feeder  for  some  larger  bank  in  a  near- 
by city.  Occasionally  it  has  a  shipping  station 
for  the  convenience  of  farmers. 

If,  however,  the  average  American  village 
were  destroyed  by  fire  and  never  again  recon- 
structed, all  of  these  economic  functions  would 
be  performed  without  great  inconvenience  to 
any  considerable  number  of  people.  As  the  ave- 
nues of  communication  such  as  good  roads,  tele- 
phones, automobiles,  free  mail  delivery,  etc., 
increase,  the  village  will  tend  to  become  more 
and  more  a  secondary  economic  community. 
The  major  economic  functions  will  drift  to 
larger  urban  centers. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  village  may  be  the 
nucleus  around  which  the  future  organized 
farmer  is  to  build  his  rural  community;  the 
community  in  which  the  voice  of  the  farmer  is 
to  be  supreme. 


54  THE  COMMUNITY 


Considered  from  a  cultural  viewpoint,  the 
village  assumes  an  important  position  in  Ameri- 
can community  life.  Surrounding  its  few  clus- 
tered retail  stores,  its  post  office,  and  its  bank, 
are  homes  of  medium  size  set  down  in  yards  of 
ample  proportions.  The  school  may  not  pro- 
vide a  complete  high  school  course  but  it  is  one 
of  the  most,  if  not  the  most,  important  institu- 
tion in  the  community.  The  churches,  one  to 
three  in  number,  occupy  places  of  respect  in  the 
landscape  of  the  village  as  well  as  in  the  hearts 
of  the  villagers.  From  the  shaded  homes  with 
spacious  lawns  come  children  who  lead  normal, 
unhurried  lives.  And  it  is  the  child  who  is  the 
dynamic  center  of  the  life  of  the  village.  The 
families  are  usually  large  by  comparison  with 
city  families.  The  children  still  perform  home 
duties,  which  make  family  obligation  habitual. 
In  the  home  are  books  revealing  an  ancestry  of 
classic  tendencies;  an  ancestry  which  occupied 
the  center  of  the  stage  of  American  social  life 
before  cities  and  factories  came  to  dominate  our 
destiny.  And  from  the  quiet  of  these  villages 
comes  a  steady  flow  of  character  and  person- 
ality which  goes  far  toward  the  formation  of 
American  opinion  and  ideals.  Leadership  in- 
vested in  the  small  but  natural  groups  of  girls 
and  boys  in  these  villages  will  multiply  itself  an 
hundred-fold.   This  leadership  must  work  with 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  55 


tools  that  are  few  in  number  and  rough  in  re- 
finement, but  if  it  has  the  genius  to  make  the 
highest  use  of  the  resources  of  the  village,  it 
will  find  in  its  hands  material  out  of  which 
greatness  proceeds. 

G.  Open  Country  Communities 
In  a  strictly  scientific  sense  it  is  doubtful  if 
there  are  any  open  country  population  groups 
which  can  be  called  true  communities.  If  one 
holds  to  that  definition  of  a  community  which 
requires  that  a  community  must  be  capable  of 
satisfying  the  major  economic  wants  of  its 
population,  it  is  certain  that  there  are  few  true 
communities  in  the  open  country.  The  pioneer 
rural  community  was,  of  course,  self-dependent, 
but  it  is  now  a  unit  of  the  past.  Few  modern 
open  country  communities  are  capable  of  meet- 
ing all  of  the  economic,  social,  and  civic  de- 
mands of  their  inhabitants.  However,  there 
are  open  country  population  clusters  which 
must  be  considered  as  communities  from  the 
viewpoint  of  leadership.  These  may  be  termed 
neighborhoods  in  the  scientific  sense,  but  in  the 
cultural  sense  they  must  be  regarded  as  com- 
munities. 

The  open  country  community  may  center 
about  the  school,  the  church,  or  a  general  store. 
Frequently  all  three  of  these  institutions  form 


56  THE  COMMUNITY 


the  center.  In  Northern  and  Western  states 
the  store  or  some  economic  institution  is  in- 
variably a  part  of  the  equation.  In  Southern 
communities  it  is  invariably  absent.  The  socia- 
ble life  which  concentrates  at  the  rural  school 
or  the  rural  church  is  a  "thing  apart."  It  has 
characteristics  and  attributes  which  are  not 
found  in  any  of  the  communities  described  in 
the  foregoing  part  of  this  chapter.  This  group 
is  made  up  of  families,  and  the  families  consti- 
tute groups  in  which  all  members  participate  in 
the  business  of  agriculture.  The  traits  which 
make  the  rural  group  distinctive  are  not  merely 
occupational  in  character;  agriculture  is  more 
than  a  vocation.    It  is  a  mode  of  life. 

Approximately  one-third  of  the  total  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States  resides  in  open 
country  communities.  In  consequence  the  kind 
of  community  life  which  is  here  created  is  des- 
tined to  play  an  important  role  in  national 
affairs.  The  processes  of  the  rural  community 
are  slow.  Leadership  is  scarce,  or  rather,  re- 
luctant. Opportunities  for  sociable  contact  are 
fewer  in  number  than  in  urban  communities. 
Urban  communities  may  place  great  faith  in  the 
"miracle"  of  "getting  together."  The  rural 
mind  is  likely  to  be  suspicious  of  mere  social 
contact.    The  least  intellectual  or  the  least  cul- 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITIES  57 


tural  element  in  the  community  is  disposed  to 
give  color  to  the  life  of  the  community  group. 

The  most  significant  factors  in  regard  to 
modern  open  country  communities  are:  the  in- 
creasing number  of  graduates  of  colleges  who 
pursue  agriculture,  and  the  increase  in  organiza- 
tion among  farmers.  In  combination,  these 
factors  have  already  produced  noteworthy  re- 
sults. The  rural  education  movement  is  now 
proceeding  from  within.  The  consolidation  of 
schools  and  churches  is  rapidly  becoming  a 
problem  of  local  expediency.  The  boundaries 
of  the  open  country  community  are  extending. 
In  one  state  it  is  now  legally  possible  for  an 
open  country  community  to  incorporate,  elect 
officers  and  collect  taxes.  The  long-neglected 
social  factors  of  country  life  are  receiving  na- 
tional attention.  The  next  fifty  years  will  prob- 
ably witness  intense  activity  and  progress  in  re- 
gard to  the  open  country  community. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  COMMUNITY  MOVEMENT  AND 
DEMOCRACY 

The  Community  Movement  represents  an 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  people  who  live  in  a 
small,  compact,  local  group  to  assume  their  own 
responsibilities  and  to  guide  their  own  destinies. 
It  is  a  reaction  against  centralized  control.  In 
its  organized  form  it  is  a  demonstration  of 
Democracy  in  action.  The  Community  Move- 
ment cannot  be  adequately  interpreted  without 
a  consideration  of  the  theory  of  Democracy. 

The  problem  of  Democracy  is  a  problem  of 
authority.  In  whom  shall  authority  exist?  In 
the  individual  or  in  the  group?  In  the  small 
local  unit  (community)  or  in  the  state?  His- 
tory presents  a  series  of  successive  waves  in 
which  authority  is  a  shifting  element.  A  brief 
survey  of  the  rising  and  falling  tides  of  Democ- 
racy is  essential  to  an  understanding  of  the 
period  in  which  we  now  live.1 

xThe  sequence  of  this  survey  follows  closely  that  used  by  Dr. 
Lynn  Harold  Hough  in  a  well-known  address  in  London  during  the 
World  War. 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  59 


Early  Statements  of  Democratic  Theory 

The  prophets,  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  pro- 
moted an  anti-democratic  theory  six  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  They  saw  the  evils  of  an 
undisciplined  group  egotism,  and  in  combating 
this  they  attempted  to  direct  attention  to  the 
individual's  responsibilities.  In  the  phrase, 
"the  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die,"  Ezekiel 
gave  theological  weight  to  his  individualistic 
concept.  But  in  the  same  sentence  there  is  an 
allusion  to  social  unity:  "Behold,  all  souls  are 
mine"  gives  a  basis  for  believing  that  this  early 
and  bold  prophet  recognized  the  conflict  be- 
tween the  individual  and  the  group. 

Almost  a  century  later,  Protagoras  stated 
the  individualistic  concept  in  philosophical 
terms.  He,  too,  sought  a  guide  whereby  philo- 
sophical tenets  might  be  given  practical  appli- 
cation, and  in  his  struggles  he  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  "the  individual  man  is  the 
measure  of  all  things." 

Socrates  assumed  a  position  in  sharp  contrast 
to  philosophical  individualism.  Although  he 
played  an  individual  role  himself,  he  pointed  to 
the  group  as  the  source  of  standards.  To  him 
the  individual  became  important  in  relation  to 
the  group  or  to  people  in  general.    Plato  de- 


60 


THE  COMMUNITY 


veloped  this  concept  in  his  theory  of  the  state. 
According  to  this  theory  the  individual  must 
always  be  subordinated  to  the  group,  which  he 
personified  in  terms  of  the  governmental  unit 
known  as  the  state  or  the  nation. 

The  Middle  Ages  witnessed  two  distinct 
movements  which  revealed  the  existence  of 
democratic  and  anti-democratic  tendencies. 
Realism  emphasized  the  group  significance. 
This  movement  regarded  the  two  institutions  of 
the  state  and  the  church  as  being  the  only 
realities  in  social  organization.  Apart  from 
these  two  institutions  the  individual  could  have 
no  real  meaning.  Nominalism,  as  a  movement, 
was  a  protest  against  Realism  and  once  more 
asserted  the  supremacy  of  the  individual. 

In  the  Sixteenth  Century  Martin  Luther 
made  a  bold  assertion  of  individual  rights.  His 
defiance  of  the  church  and  the  state  as  institu- 
tions of  authority  was  dramatic  and  partially 
successful.  Man's  inherent  need  for  authority, 
and  his  failure  to  conceive  all  of  the  implica- 
tions of  the  Reformation,  caused  the  loss  of 
some  of  its  most  distinctive  values.  The  Eng- 
lish individualist  movement  of  the  Seventeenth 
and  Eighteenth  Centuries,  with  Locke  and  Kidd 
as  spokesmen,  was  a  continuation  of  the  forces 
liberated  by  the  Reformation. 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  61 


Modern  Statements  of  Democracy 

The  French  Revolution  was  an  attempt  to 
establish  a  working  relationship  between  indi- 
vidual liberty  and  fraternity.  Its  watchwords, 
''liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity,"  stated  in 
graphic  form  the  old  issue  between  the  individ- 
ual and  the  group.  Viewed  in  the  light  of  the 
evolution  of  the  idea  of  Democracy,  the  French 
Revolution  appears  as  an  heroic  effort  to  state 
the  problem  definitely  and  to  erect  a  political 
structure  upon  the  principle.  But  this  age-old 
question  was  not  to  be  settled  so  simply.  The 
United  States  began  its  political  history  as  an 
independent  nation  with  another  restatement  of 
the  problem.  The  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence is  a  document  of  individualist  rights. 
It  reaffirms  the  old  shibboleths  of  the  French 
philosophers  who  heralded  the  Revolution.  In 
stentorian  tones  it  courageously  says  to  the 
world  that  "all  men  are  created  equal"  and 
from  this  dictum  derives  the  theory  of  govern- 
ment which  is  based  upon  the  consent  of  the 
governed. 

Then  came  the  Constitution,  which  was  a 
compromise  between  individual  and  group 
rights.  In  the  Constitution  the  individual  is 
endowed  with  certain  sacred  rights  which  the 
state  must  refrain  from  molesting.    The  rights 


62  THE  COMMUNITY 


of  free  speech,  free  press,  and  free  assemblage 
are  even  placed  without  the  sphere  of  the 
Federal  Congress.  But  the  greater  portion  of 
this  great  document  is  concerned  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  relationships  which  are  to  exist  be- 
tween the  free  individual  and  the  strong  state. 
The  Constitution  did  not  solve  the  problem. 
The  two  major  political  parties  of  this  country 
have  risen  and  fallen  with  platforms  emphasiz- 
ing either  the  rights  of  the  individual  or  of  the 
state.  Two  great  political  leaders  rose  to  emi- 
nence on  the  basis  of  this  struggle;  Thomas 
Jefferson  was  the  logical  and  the  philosophical 
champion  of  individual  rights  (expressed  in  the 
form  of  State's  Rights,  which  under  the  Ameri- 
can form  of  government  indicates  a  smaller 
governmental  unit  than  the  Nation  or  State,  as 
it  is  generally  known)  ;  while  Alexander  Hamil- 
ton was  the  spokesman  of  centralized  authority 
resting  with  the  Federal  Government. 

In  1861  the  struggle  came  to  a  tragic  issue. 
There  existed  at  that  time  large  numbers  of 
people  who  were  not  regarded  as  being  equally 
born  or  equally  endowed  with  others.  These 
people  were  deprived  of  some  of  the  funda- 
mental individual  rights;  they  were,  in  fact,  held 
to  be  the  property  of  others.  To  continue  the 
extension  of  this  latter  class,  and  of  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery  which  was  its  necessary  adjunct, 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  63 


would  be  to  deny  the  organic  law  of  the  land. 
Either  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the 
first  portions  of  the  Constitution  must  be  dis- 
regarded and  held  to  be  null  and  void,  or  the 
question  of  slavery  and  individual  rights  must 
be  decided.  This  was  a  question  too  deeply 
entrenched  in  economic  and  social  institutions 
to  be  settled  without  engendering  feelings  of 
enmity.  Unfortunately,  the  issue  was  permitted 
to  drift  to  the  point  of  warfare.  Because  of  the 
fortune  of  economic  preponderance,  the  pro- 
ponents of  centralized  control  won  the  war,  and 
a  strong  central  government  became  inevitable. 
Viewed  in  the  light  of  nationalistic  develop- 
ments in  Europe  and  the  Orient,  this  was  un- 
doubtedly a  fortunate  trend  of  affairs.  But  the 
essential  problem  of  Democracy  was  not  solved 
by  means  of  the  Civil  War,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  study  of  modern  tendencies  which  we  shall 
embrace  within  the  scope  of  the  community 
movement. 

The  German  Empire  was  destined  to  give  the 
anti-democratic  theory  its  most  forceful  demon- 
stration. In  the  growth  of  this  nation  the  indi- 
vidual was  thoroughly  subordinated.  The  state 
became  the  absolute  authority,  and  this  ulti- 
mately meant  despotism.  In  fairness  to  some 
of  the  German  leaders  who  were  responsible 
for  this  development  it  must  be  admitted  that 


64  THE  COMMUNITY 


the  last  forty  years  of  the  German  Empire  were 
years  of  benevolent  despotism.  Under  this 
regime  the  individual's  wants  were  readily  met, 
but  they  were  met  by  the  Government.  The 
tendency  was  inevitably  toward  a  highly  effi- 
cient form  of  state  socialism.  Coupled  with  a 
military  caste  this  combination  contained  within 
it  the  seeds  of  its  own  destruction. 

Proudhon,  the  philosopher  of  anarchy,  took 
a  position  in  direct  opposition  to  the  tendencies 
of  European  governments.  He  insisted  upon 
a  state  of  society  in  which  every  individual  was 
to  have  the  right  to  do  as  he  pleased.  To  him 
all  government  was  obnoxious. 

Thus  it  becomes  evident  that  an  extreme  in- 
dividualist theory  carried  to  its  logical  con- 
clusion ends  in  anarchy,  and  an  extreme  group 
theory  ends  in  despotism. 

The  World  War,  of  1 9 14-19 1 8,  began  as  a 
nationalistic  scramble  for  economic  control. 
Through  the  interpretations  of  the  aims  of  the 
War,  made  by  such  leaders  and  agencies  as 
Woodrow  Wilson  and  the  British  Labor  Party, 
it  evolved  into  a  struggle  centering  about  the 
theory  of  Democracy.  The  rights  of  individ- 
uals and  the  rights  of  smaller  states  to  deter- 
mine their  own  status  and  destiny  became  the 
chief  issues  of  the  War.  Added  to  this  was  the 
determination  on  the  part  of  the  working  peo- 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  65 


pie  who,  in  the  end,  must  bear  the  burdens  of 
warfare,  to  end  all  war  as  a  means  of  settling 
nationalistic  disputes.  And,  once  more  we  face 
disillusionment;  the  essential  problem  of  De- 
mocracy is  not  yet  solved.  Perhaps  we  shall 
some  time  learn  that  it  will  never  be  solved  by 
means  of  warfare,  and  that  its  only  hope  of 
solution  lies  in  practical  demonstrations  carried 
out  in  small  communities. 

Modern  Manifestation  of  the  Community 
Movement 

In  order  to  gain  perspective  in  regard  to  the 
far-reaching  implications  of  the  Community 
Movement,  this  survey  includes  a  wider  range 
of  tendencies  than  is  ordinarily  included  in  such 
a  category.  All  movements  which  aim  to  re- 
store control  and  authority  to  smaller  groups, 
having  vital  relationships  within  themselves, 
are  included  as  a  part  of  the  Community  Move- 
ment. 

Home-rule  Legislation  increases  in  quantity 
on  the  statute  books  of  all  of  the  states  in  the 
United  States.  This  is  an  indication  that  cer- 
tain cities  (communities)  desire  certain  special 
privileges,  or  controls,  which  are  now  in  the 
hands  of  the  state.  Very  frequently  such  com- 
munities desire  the  privilege  of  taxing  them- 


66  THE  COMMUNITY 


selves  for  certain  improvements;  they  discover 
that  state  legislation  sets  a  limit  to  their  in- 
debtedness, and  chafing  under  such  restrictions, 
make  an  effective  appeal  for  home-rule  legisla- 
tion. To  the  student  of  municipal  government 
this  phenomenon  presents  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting developments  of  the  past  decade. 

Public  Ownership  of  Public  Utilities  may,  or 
may  not,  be  the  most  efficient  method  of  provid- 
ing public  service,  but  the  tendency  to  take  the 
control  of  public  utilities  away  from  private  cor- 
porations is  unmistakable.  The  operation  of 
electricity,  gas,  and  water  supply  began  as  pri- 
vate enterprises;  a  service  or  a  commodity  was 
sold  to  the  people  of  a  community.  The  wide 
character  of  these  services  coupled  with  the  un- 
just use  of  public  franchises  made  them  of 
deep-seated  political  importance.  Many  com- 
munities have  been  split  asunder  by  the  so-called 
"water,"  or  "gas,"  or  "power"  "crowds"  in 
political  control.  Public  ownership  may  have 
its  attendant  evils,  but  they  are  the  evils  of 
democratic  control  and  will  be  borne  with  less 
complaint. 

The  Consumers'  Cooperative  Movement  is 
another  manifestation  of  the  desire  of  a  com- 
munity to  be  released  from  certain  extraneous 
forces  of  control.  There  is  a  widespread  be- 
lief that  the  necessities  of  life  continue  to  in- 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  67 


crease  in  cost  to  the  consumer  due  to  non-essen- 
tial processes  of  distribution.  Most  of  these 
processes  lie  outside  the  intimate  community 
and  come  to  be  personified  as  evils  in  the  per- 
sons of  middlemen.  The  community  deter- 
mines to  eliminate  some  of  these  middlemen 
and  becomes  its  own  secondary  distributor. 
This  movement  has  already  reached  such  pro- 
portions in  Great  Britain  that  it  embraces  1400 
cooperative  societies,  with  a  membership  of 
three  and  one-half  million  people. 

Producers'  cooperatives  have  a  strong  foot- 
hold in  Europe  and  are  now  beginning  to  secure 
important  controls  in  the  United  States.  If  the 
present  plans  of  the  American  Farm  Bureau 
Federation  materialize,  we  shall  soon  witness 
the  phenomenon  of  having  the  entire  grain  crop 
of  the  country  sold  on  a  cooperative  basis. 

The  Farm  Bureau  is  a  new  form  of  social  or- 
ganization in  the  United  States,  the  implications 
of  which  are  not  fully  realized.  The  American 
farmer  is  a  "much-tutored"  person.  The  Fed- 
eral Government  maintains  a  gigantic  depart- 
ment which  serves  his  needs.  Each  state  pro- 
vides agricultural  instruction  of  some  sort  in 
colleges,  high  schools,  and  through  extension 
teaching  as  well.  Many  private  agencies,  such 
as  banks,  consider  the  education  of  the  farmer 
one  of  their  functions.    During  the  develop- 


68  THE  COMMUNITY 


ment  of  this  extensive  system  of  bringing  in- 
formation to  the  farmer,  he  was  himself  quite 
inarticulate.  The  farm  bureau  is  the  farmer's 
voice  raised  to  a  pitch  intended  to  make  his 
tutors  know  that  he  expects  to  guide  his  own 
destiny  in  the  future. 

The  Settlement  House  movement  is  a  neigh- 
borhood rather  than  a  community  project.  Its 
objective  is  to  furnish  a  common  meeting  place 
for  the  more  or  less  homogeneous  residents  of  a 
district  or  neighborhood  in  a  city.  At  this 
center  are  provided  the  facilities  for  expression 
in  the  form  of  recreation,  dramatics,  and  dis- 
cussions. Educational  advantages,  such  as  are 
not  usually  found  in  the  public  schools,  are  here 
provided  for  the  educationally  disadvantaged. 
From  the  sociological  viewpoint  the  settlement 
house  is  an  institution  whose  primary  function 
is  to  conserve  the  neighborhood  ties  of  families 
and  groups.  It  places  certain  non-political  ele- 
ments of  community  life  directly  within  the 
control  of  the  people  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  Community  Center  movement  as  it  has 
developed  in  the  United  States  has  two  distinct 
aspects.  Its  chief  proponents  have  been  those 
who  are  interested  in  making  better  use  of  the 
equipment  and  the  personnel  of  the  public 
schools.  To  this  end  they  desire  to  have  each 
public  school  serve  as  the  social  center  for  the 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  69 


educational,  recreational,  sociable,  and  discus- 
sional  life  of  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  school  building.  Another  element  is  con- 
cerned with  making  the  church  the  community 
center,  and  there  are  others  who  insist  upon  the 
erection  of  separate  community  buildings  to  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  It  is  estimated  that 
there  are  approximately  five  thousand  com- 
munity centers  in  the  United  States.  New  York 
City  alone  utilizes  nearly  three  hundred  public 
schools  as  social  centers. 

The  Forum  movement  is  closely  related  to 
the  community  center  movement  but  deserves 
special  attention.  In  the  forum  movement  we 
see  an  attempt  to  restore  to  the  people  of  a 
community  the  fine  art  of  arriving  at  conclu- 
sions by  means  of  free  discussion.  In  the  rapid 
development  of  avenues  of  communication  such 
as  daily  newspapers,  discussion  has  languished; 
opinions  are  created  by  these  powerful  organs 
of  influence.  The  forum  movement  is  a  clear 
indication  that  people  have  an  inherent  desire 
to  reach  their  own  conclusions. 

Community  Councils,  which  were  in  reality 
neighborhood  councils,  were  organized  in  a 
number  of  cities  during  the  War.  These  were 
in  the  nature  of  non-governmental  agencies  de- 
vised to  hasten  community  action  on  important 
campaigns  related  to  the  prosecution  of  the 


70  THE  COMMUNITY 


War,  and  hence  constituted  an  admission  of  the 
effectiveness  of  the  smaller  local  unit  in  a  crisis. 
Following  the  War,  the  City  of  New  York  con- 
tinued this  form  of  organization  in  modified 
form  and  with  a  peace-time  program.  The 
separate  community  councils  were  related  to  the 
entire  city  by  means  of  a  city  parliament,  in 
which  important  city-wide  projects  were  dis- 
cussed. The  various  councils  functioned 
through  committees  appointed  on  the  project 
basis.  Community  secretaries  were  employed 
to  handle  the  administrative  affairs  of  the  coun- 
cils; specialists  in  recreation,  health,  etc.,  were 
also  employed  to  serve  all  of  the  councils  within 
the  city. 

The  Social  Unit  plan  of  organizing  a  com- 
munity by  neighborhoods,  as  demonstrated  in 
Cincinnati,  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
thoroughly  thought-out  schemes  of  community 
organization  which  has  yet  been  attempted. 
The  plan  involved  organization  by  city  blocks 
within  a  neighborhood;  each  block  was  pro- 
vided with  a  leader  chosen  from  the  resident 
group.  Programs  were  initiated  by  an  occupa- 
tional group  made  up  of  representatives  of  all 
institutions  and  agencies  functioning  in  the 
neighborhood.  Thus  members  of  the  chamber 
of  commerce,  of  the  labor  unions,  of  the 
churches,  the  teachers,  the  nurses,  the  doctors, 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  71 


etc.,  were  all  represented  on  the  committee 
which  initiated  programs.  Such  programs  could 
not,  however,  be  promoted  without  acceptance 
by  the  democratically  organized  community  or 
neighborhood  group.  The  plan  involves  the 
full  utilization  of  specialists  under  the  control 
of  the  organized  neighborhood. 

The  Community  Church  movement  is  an  at- 
tempt to  socialize  the  work  of  the  church  in  such 
manner  as  to  include  within  its  scope  of  activi- 
ties certain  social  services.  In  its  purest  form 
it  represents  an  anti-denominational  force,  as  a 
result  of  which  the  absolute  control  of  the 
church  shall  rest  with  the  community  and  not 
with  denominational  boards  or  bishops.  In  its 
more  modified  form,  by  which  we  know  it  best 
in  the  United  States,  it  is  merely  an  attempt  to 
do  certain  things  through  the  church  as  a  me- 
dium. Thus  churches  simply  render  services  to 
the  community  in  the  way  of  recreation,  educa- 
tion, social  service,  etc.,  without  changing  the 
fundamental  character  of  the  church  organiza- 
tion. In  rural  communities  this  movement  is 
best  represented  by  federated  churches,  in 
which  two  or  more  churches  combine  for  a 
wider  program,  or  union  churches  in  which 
more  than  one  denomination  exists  on  a  co- 
operative basis. 


72  THE  COMMUNITY 


In  addition  to  these  specific  movements  there 
are  other  manifestations  of  the  community 
urge.  Some  of  these  are  to  be  found  in  the 
changing  programs  of  institutions  and  agencies. 
The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  a 
community  program  which  is  distinguished 
from  its  institutional  or  building  program. 
This  is  also  true  of  the  Young  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association.  The  American  Red  Cross 
emerged  from  the  War  with  a  peace-time  pro- 
gram which  embraced  the  entire  community  in 
relation  to  certain  vital  interests  of  life.  War 
Camp  Community  service  became  Community 
Service,  incorporated  soon  after  the  World 
War  ended,  and  under  this  new  name  promotes 
a  recreation,  or  leisure-time  program,  for  all 
elements  of  the  community's  population.  The 
word  "community"  has  been  appropriated  by 
numerous  agencies  and  institutions  which  here- 
to-fore promoted  programs  for  special  groups. 

The  above  manifestations  of  the  attempts  of 
community  groups  to  gain  control  of  their  ac- 
tivities are,  perhaps,  sufficient  to  indicate  that 
there  is  a  real  community  movement  in  the 
United  States.  This  tendency  is  not,  however, 
confined  to  this  country;  the  movement  appears 
to  be  well-nigh  universal.  In  Great  Britain 
there  are  Whiteley  Councils  which  aim  to  place 
certain  controls  within  the  hands  of  the  workers 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  73 


in  certain  industries,  and  there  is  the  Shop 
Stewards  movement  with  similar  objectives. 
The  Garden-Cities  of  England,  which  are 
likely  to  develop  in  this  country  under  the  name 
of  Farm-Cities,  constitute  another  manifesta- 
tion of  community  control.  The  New  Town 
proposals  of  the  Society  of  Friends  goes  still 
further  in  this  direction.  In  Yucatan,  Mexico, 
there  is  a  form  of  local  government  which  goes 
by  the  name  of  the  Councils  of  Resistance, 
which  are  in  effect  community  organizations 
with  governmental  powers.  The  Soviets  of 
Russia  are  occupational  councils  devised  to  con- 
trol the  political,  economic,  and  social  affairs 
of  the  local  community.  Instead  of  selecting 
political  representatives  from  geographic  units 
they  select  them  from  occupational  units.  All 
of  this  increased  evidence  merely  strengthens 
the  assumption  that  we  are  now  passing  through 
a  stage  in  which  democratic  theory  is  to  be 
tested  on  the  community  basis. 

A  brief  survey  of  the  history  of  the  demo- 
cratic movement,  viewed  in  the  light  of  the 
community,  convinces  the  student  that  there  is 
no  lack  of  theory.  Schemes  and  plans  there  are 
in  abundance.  What,  then,  is  the  reason  for 
so  much  trial-and-error,  so  much  hope-and- 
despair,  which  makes  man's  pathway  toward 
Democracy  so  uncertain?   As  in  the  case  of  all 


74  THE  COMMUNITY 


social  problems,  there  is  no  one  reason,  but 
there  are  many  reasons.  There  is  space  here 
for  the  consideration  of  only  a  few  of  the  major 
impediments  of  Democracy. 

In  the  first  place,  Democracy,  as  expressed  in 
the  Community  Movement,  is  inimical  to  certain 
vested  interests.  The  power  which  comes 
through  authority  is  a  jealous  power.  Those 
who  secure  it  hold  it  fast. 

In  the  second  place,  there  has  been  too  little 
education  in  regard  to  the  theory  of  Democracy. 
Many  still  think  of  it  as  merely  a  highly  idealis- 
tic form  of  government  which  is  unattainable 
under  modern  complex  conditions  of  society. 

In  the  third  place,  there  is  an  ever  present 
tendency  among  idealists  and  realists  to  go  to 
extremes.  They  look  upon  progress  as  being 
absolute  when  all  the  facts  indicate  that  the 
best  that  can  be  hoped  for  in  human  affairs  is 
tentative  progress. 

The  most  formidable  foe  of  Democracy, 
however,  is  the  confidence  which  people  place  in 
schemes  and  plans  and  forms  of  organization. 
What  the  social  machinery  of  our  day  needs  is 
spiritual  force  to  provide  motive  power.  The 
modern  Community  Movement  will  fail  to  give 
Democracy  its  practical  expression  if  it  is  not 
motivated  by  a  spiritual  dynamic.  Such  a  dy- 
namic force  was  unloosed  with  the  message  and 


COMMUNITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  75 


the  life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  lived  His 
life  on  the  basis  of  certain  basic  democratic  as- 
sumptions, and  He  scientifically  demonstrated 
those  assumptions.  In  His  eyes  all  individuals 
were  of  value;  through  the  social  implications 
of  His  message  sin  became  democratic  and  the 
burden  of  all;  in  His  aspirations  all  humankind 
were  included.  He  assumed  that  Love  would 
solve  more  problems  than  Hatred.  He  even 
assumed  that  to  have  a  human  enemy  was  a 
social  anomaly.  And  He  believed  that  religion 
was  essentially  a  system  of  behavior  by  which 
the  individual  need  not  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
group,  but  by  which  the  individual  must  find  his 
ultimate  satisfactions  in  spiritualizing  the 
group. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  The  Protestant  Reformation  substituted 
the  Bible  for  the  former  authority  of  the 
Church.  Why  did  this  substitution  of  au- 
thority lead  to  the  multiplication  of  sects 
within  the  Protestant  Church? 

2.  Describe  some  community  project  with 
which  you  are  familiar,  and  in  which  cer- 
tain vested  interests  (of  property,  wealth, 
political  power,  etc.)  defeated  what  was 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  group. 

3.  In  what  relationships  or  ways  is  the  saying, 
"all  men  are  born  equal,"  not  true? 


76  THE  COMMUNITY 

4.  Which  was  the  more  important  issue  in  the 
Civil  War,  slavery  or  secession? 

5.  Anarchy  implies  that  man  would  be  happier 
without  government.  Why  does  this  theory 
seem  impractical  to  you?      v  * 

6.  List  three  pieces  of  home-rule  legislation, 
giving  specific  provisions  of  each. 

7.  If  water  supply  is  a  public  utility  which  is 
justified  by  public  ownership,  why  is  not 
clothing  supply  a  similar  utility? 

8.  Why  have  organizations  among  merchants, 
financiers,  and  laboring  men  preceded  or- 
ganization among  farmers? 

9.  If  there  are  several  churches  in  a  com- 
munity can  any  one  of  them  become  the 
community's  social  center?  Why? 

10.  Are  free  speech,  free  assembly,  and  free 
press  essential  to  Democracy?  Why? 

11.  What  could  the  public  schools  do  toward 
training  citizens  for  democratic  living? 

12.  Should  the  Church  have  a  community  mes- 
sage? Why? 


CHAPTER  VII 


COMMUNITY  NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES 

A  community  is  a  form  of  social  organization 
which  meets  certain  human  needs.  The  various 
aspects  of  the  Community  Movement  are,  in 
fact,  expressions  of  modes  and  means  of  meet- 
ing these  needs.  The  human  needs  which  are 
regarded  as  having  universal  bearing  in  the 
lives  of  all  people  everywhere  are : 

Physical  needs  expressed  in  health. 
Material  needs  expressed  in  wealth. 
Social  needs  expressed  in  sociability. 
Intellectual  needs  expressed  in  knowledge. 
Aesthetic  needs  expressed  in  beauty. 
Ethical  needs  expressed  in  righteousness. 

It  will  be  observed  that  all  people  do  not 
express  all  these  needs ;  nor  do  all  people  ex- 
press them  in  the  same  degree.  However, 
some  portions  of  all  these  needs  must  be  met 
if  a  social  organization  is  to  be  progressive. 

From  the  viewpoint  of  the  theme  of  this 
book  it  will  be  serviceable  to  consider  human 
needs  in  the  light  of  their  resultant  institutions. 


78  THE  COMMUNITY 


It  is  characteristic  of  a  progressive  society  to 
increase  institutions ;  needs  which  are  sufficiently 
universal  sooner  or  later  find  expression  in  some 
form  of  organization.  Such  organizations, 
based  upon  fundamental  human  needs,  become 
institutionalized  and  formalized  so  that  in  time 
they  are  looked  upon  as  an  integral  part  of  the 
customs  or  mores  of  the  group.  A  simple  need, 
such  as  the  need  for  food,  may  result  in  the 
necessity  of  providing  defense  for  the  food 
supply.  This  defense,  in  turn,  creates  the  neces- 
sity for  inventing  arms  and  ammunition.  The 
organization  of  armies  of  defense  and  the  re- 
sulting institution  of  militarism  follows.  The 
primary  needs  of  food,  shelter,  and  clothing  are 
the  starting  points  of  numerous  forms  of  social 
and  economic  organization,  all  of  which  have 
resulted  in  institutions  of  a  more  or  less  per- 
manent character.  When  people  live  in  organ- 
ized groups,  such  as  communities,  their  indi- 
vidual needs  are  supplemented  by  group  needs. 
The  combination  produces  a  wider  classification 
of  needs  and  institutions  than  that  suggested  at 
the  beginning  of  this  chapter.  Individuals  liv- 
ing in  communities  can  no  longer  be  considered 
merely  as  individuals;  their  needs  become  social 
or  group  needs  and  must  be  met  in  common. 
This  implies  organization  of  some  sort. 

The  following  classification  of  community 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  79 


needs,  and  the  consequent  organized  means  of 
meeting  such  needs,  is  not  intended  to  represent 
the  chronological  sequence  of  the  existence  of 
needs;  nor  does  the  order  indicate  relative  im- 
portance of  the  various  needs. 


Classification  of 
Need 

1.  Orderlinessj  or  au- 
thoritative rules  re- 
garding property  and 
personal  rights  and 
privileges. 

2.  Economic  well-being, 
or  the  means  of  util- 
izing raw  products 
for  food,  clothing,  and 
shelter. 

3.  Physical  well-being, 
or  health  of  body. 

4.  Intellectual  diffusion, 
or  the  means  of  dis- 
seminating informa- 
tion and  knowledge. 

5.  Associative  ties,  or 
opportunities  for  so- 
ciable intercourse  with 
like-minded  persons. 


Community  Needs 

Institution 
Government,  courts,  po- 
lice. 


Agriculture  or  productive 
industry. 


Physicians,  hospitals,  pub- 
lic health  organizations, 
nurses. 

Public  schools,  news- 
papers, forum. 

Societies,  clubs,  voluntary 
organizations. 


80  THE  COMMUNITY 


Need 

6.  Ethical  control,  or 
standards  of  behavior 
accepted  by  the  group 
but  not  legally  con- 
trolled. 

7.  Recreative  expression, 
or  leisure-time  activi- 
ties to  supplement  the 
ordinary  regime  of 
life. 

8.  Spiritual  motivation, 
or  expression  of  re- 
liance upon  the  super- 
natural. 

9.  Philanthropy,  or  so- 
cial means  for  assist- 
ing the  disadvantaged 
members  of  the  group 
(social  work). 

10.  Group  articulation,  or 
means  by  which  the 
various  interest 
groups  and  the  total 
population  may  be  re- 
lated. 


Institution 
Moral  customs,  mores,  ob- 
servances. 


Theatres,  playgrounds,  art, 
dance  halls. 


Churches 


Charity  organizations,  hos- 
pitals, institutions  for 
defective,  delinquent 
and  dependent  persons. 

Community  organization. 


This  classification  of  community  needs  does 
not  explain  all  the  institutions  existing  in 
modern  communities.    A  labor  union,  for  ex- 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  81 


ample,  is  an  outgrowth  of  economic  processes 
but  it  has  also  its  definite  relationship  to  "asso- 
ciative ties."  It  serves  its  members  economi- 
cally but  it  also  serves  them  socially.  In  like 
manner,  a  theatre  should  be  a  place  where  the 
innate  impulses  of  dramatic  expression  become 
re-creative;  in  its  modern  form  its  major  objec- 
tive is  to  earn  profits  on  invested  capital.  Com- 
munity needs1  may  be  classified  in  numerous 
other  ways,  all  of  which  may  throw  light  upon 
the  student's  understanding  of  the  community 
process.  Thus,  we  may  think  of  human  needs 
as  being  primary  and  secondary.  Primary 
needs  (in  reality  "wants")  would  consist  of 
those  things  which  are  requisite  to  life,  such  as 
food,  shelter,  and  clothing.  The  secondary 
needs  would  include  all  of  those  accumulated 
needs  which  lead  to  a  higher  form  of  life.  All 
animals  have  primary  needs  in  this  sense.  The 
human  animal  creates  the  secondary  needs  in 
proportion  to  his  elevation  above  the  purely 
animal  plane.  The  primary  needs  may  be  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  the  individual  and  the 
secondary  needs  to  the  group. 

xThe  word  "need"  is  here  used  to  express  "lack  of."  The  econo- 
mist's term  "-want"  denotes  more  specifically  a  physiological  fact.  The 
psychologist's  term  "desire"  is  more  definitely  related  to  the  mental 
objective  of  a  want  or  need.  In  thinking  of  a  communits7  as  a  pro- 
gressive society,  the  word  "need"  seems  to  express  more  adequately 
those  increasing  and  cumulative  services  which  come  into  existence  to 
meet  higher  wants. 


82  THE  COMMUNITY 


Community  Institutions  Based  upon  Com- 
munity Needs 

The  force  which  holds  a  community  to- 
gether, above  all  other  forces,  is  work  or  eco- 
nomic production.  In  our  study  of  types  of 
communities  we  discovered  that  those  com- 
munities which  were  based  primarily  upon 
politics,  or  the  mere  conveniences  of  living, 
(political  and  suburban  communities),  pre- 
sented characteristics  which  are  not  found  in 
the  ordinary  community.  It  is  these  non- 
economic  characteristics  which  give  these  com- 
munities their  peculiar  constitution  and  make 
them  anomalous. 

Agriculture,  manufacturing,  and  mining  are 
the  three  elemental  and  fundamental  economic 
processes  which  lay  the  foundation  for  com- 
munity life  and  from  which  rise  the  various 
forms  of  social  organization.  Each  of  these 
modes  of  production  has  brought  into  existence 
a  regime  of  life  which  constitutes  institution- 
alism. 

Agriculture  as  an  institution  (farming)  has 
produced  a  discipline,  a  distinct  population 
group,  and  distinct  forms  of  social  organization. 
There  are  those  who  look  upon  agriculture  as 
a  mere  classification  of  vocations,  but  it  is  more 
than  that;  it  is  a  mode  of  living  which  is  dis- 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  83 


tinguished  from  the  urban  or  city  mode  of 
living  in  these  particulars : 

The  farm  family  is  related  to  the  productive 
enterprise  as  a  unit. 

The  social  contacts  of  the  farmer  are  fewer 
and  of  lesser  variety. 

The  farmer's  contact  with  the  soil  and  with 
natural  forces  produces  a  type  of  mind,  differ- 
ing in  its  outlooks  from  that  of  the  city  dweller. 

The  social  institutions  which  occur  indige- 
nously in  farming  communities  are  less  numer- 
ous and  less  complex. 

The  family  life  of  farmers  is  on  a  more 
intimate  basis  and  is  more  cohesive. 

The  farmer  is  both  capitalist  and  laborer;  he 
owns  his  tools  and  sells  his  finished  products. 

Industrial  discipline  has  so  completely  ab- 
sorbed the  enterprise  of  mining  that  these  two 
forms,  or  economic  institutions,  may  be  con- 
sidered together.  Modern  industry  has  created 
a  discipline  in  many  respects  as  distinct  as  that 
accompanying  military  organization.  Work 
begins  at  a  given  time  and  ends  at  a  given  time. 
The  employer  furnishes  the  raw  materials  and 
the  tools  and  the  supervision;  the  worker  per- 
forms tasks  which  are  conditioned  by  his  em- 
ployer and  his  machines.  Three  distinct  social 
classes  have  emerged  from  this  regime:  the 
capitalist  or  investor,  the  technician  and  the 
manager,  the  worker.    Frequently  the  first  two 


84  THE  COMMUNITY 


classes  overlap,  but  they  combine  only  to  reveal 
a  greater  contrast  between  those  who  own  and 
direct  and  those  who  labor  with  their  hands. 
The  natural  outgrowth  of  such  a  discipline  is 
the  organization  of  the  workers  for  the  purpose 
of  collective  bargaining.  Organization  of 
laborers  constitutes  the  most  remarkable  and 
fascinating  development  in  modern  social  or- 
ganization. 

Governmental  Institutions 

Economic  exploitation  of  natural  resources 
leads  quickly  to  ownership  of  property.  Such 
ownership  implies  rights  and  privileges  which 
must  have  some  sanction  in  order  to  receive  re- 
spect. The  institutions  of  government  give 
■such  sanction.  In  the  later  stages  of  a  society 
the  forces  of  ownership  and  non-ownership  of 
property  become  more  or  less  equalized.  This 
leads  to  the  introduction  of  other  factors  in 
government.  It  no  longer  suffices  to  have 
governmental  agencies  concern  themselves  en- 
tirely with  property;  human  life  makes  certain 
demands  for  rights  and  privileges  which  must 
also  have  sanction.  Government  then  becomes 
the  institution  through  which  the  rights  of 
property  and  the  rights  of  life  become  estab- 
lished. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  discuss 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  85 

the  foregoing  phases  of  modern  institutional- 
ism  in  detail.  They  belong  rather  to  the 
spheres  of  economic  and  political  science.  The 
community  leader's  opportunity  and  task,  in  our 
time,  lies  in  the  direction  of  the  extra  or  non- 
governmental forms  of  organization. 

The  most  pertinent  fact  in  regard  to  modern 
tendencies  in  government  is  the  transition  from 
legalism,  as  the  compelling  factor,  to  the  con- 
sideration of  economic  and  social  forces  as  the 
compelling  factor.  The  newer  sciences  of  so- 
ciology and  economics  are  destined  to  play  an 
important  role  in  the  future  development  of 
governmental  affairs.  Jurisprudence,  constitu- 
tional interpretation,  and  political  parties  will 
decrease  in  importance  as  the  newer  social 
sciences  are  applied  to  this  problem.  All  of 
which  means  that  the  extra-governmental 
agencies,  which  are  now  the  initiators  of  most 
social  movements,  will  either  go  out  of  exist- 
ence, or  will  assume  much  more  important  posi- 
tions in  our  community  life  than  they  do  at 
present.  The  latter  development  appears  to  be 
the  logical  expectation  in  view  of  the  present 
reaction  against  state  socialism,  or  the  control 
of  economic  and  social  affairs  by  the  state  to 
the  exclusion  of  private  agencies. 

The  managerial  form  of  city  government  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  indication  of  the  present  ten- 


86  THE  COMMUNITY 


dency  to  regard  government  as  a  technique 
which  deals  with  engineering,  rather  than  with 
political  problems.  The  institutions  of  a 
modern  city  which  are  trusted  with  the  supply 
of  water,  the  protection  from  fire,  the  building 
of  roadways  suitable  for  motor  traffic,  the  pro- 
tection from  contagious  and  infectious  diseases, 
and  with  the  numerous  functions  related  to  life 
and  living,  must  be  institutions  founded  upon 
scientific  wisdom  and  administered  by  engineer- 
ing minds. 

The  governmental  institutions  of  a  modern 
community  include: 

( 1 )  Police  department  for  the  protection 
of  property  and  life. 

(2)  Public  utilities  furnishing  water,  light- 
ing, heat,  gas,  and  transportation. 

(3)  Public  health  organization  for  the  pre- 
vention of  diseases,  for  sanitary  regula- 
tions, disposal  of  wastes  and  the  care  of 
persons  in  ill-health. 

(4)  Courts  for  the  adjustment  of  difficulties 
of  a  legal  nature. 

(5)  Public  relief  agencies  and  institutions 
for  the  care  of  dependent,  defective, 
and  delinquent  members  of  the  com- 
munity group. 

(6)  Public  schools  for  the  dissemination  of 
general  and  vocational  education. 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  87 


(7)  Public  libraries  providing  books  and 
current  literature  to  the  citizens  of  the 
community. 

(8)  Public  markets  for  the  economical 
method  of  distributing  perishable  food 
products. 

(9)  Public  parks,  playgrounds  and  recrea- 
tion centers  for  rest,  supervised  and 
directed  play,  and  athletics. 

This  list  does  not,  of  course,  complete  the 
governmental  institutions  of  the  modern  com- 
munity. The  City  of  New  York,  for  example, 
employs  ninety  thousand  persons  in  its  numer- 
ous departments  of  governmental  activity. 

Quasi-Governmental  Institutions 
Private  institutions  have  a  tendency  to  be- 
come officialized.  The  playground  movement  in 
the  United  States  is  an  example  of  private  ini- 
tiative transferred  ultimately  to  public  control. 
Many  libraries  and  art  institutes  and  museums 
as  well  as  parks  were  originally  in  the  control 
of  private  individuals  or  groups.  In  the  transi- 
tion from  private  to  public  control  there  often 
occur  cases  where  there  is  a  curious  mixture  of 
administration;  the  official  agency  provides  the 
funds  through  taxation  but  private  organiza- 
tions still  exercise  administrative  control.  The 
technique  for  the  promotion  of  such  quasi- 


88  THE  COMMUNITY 


governmental  institutions  and  agencies  is  lack- 
ing in  scientific  background.  Most  of  these 
cases  are  in  large  measure  accidental.  It  is 
probable  that  the  future  will  witness  a  tendency 
toward  the  development  of  a  definite  technique 
for  the  administration  of  quasi-governmental 
institutions  and  agencies.  The  officialization  of 
an  institution  or  movement  is  almost  certain  to 
subtract  from  that  movement  some  vital  ele- 
ments. The  spirit  of  volunteer  service,  the 
ascendency  of  personal  leadership,  and  the  en- 
thusiasm of  group  achievement  in  spite  of 
handicaps, — these  are  all  values  which  are  so 
frequently  lost  in  a  governmental  institution. 
If  values  of  this  sort  could  be  conserved  by 
retaining  certain  controls  within  the  private 
group,  and  by  turning  over  others  to  the  gov- 
ernment, there  would  result  a  great  social  gain. 

Extra-Governmental  or  Voluntary  Agencies 
The  United  States  is  the  seed-bed  of  volun- 
tary agencies.  A  new  human  need  is  no  sooner 
discovered  than  there  ensues  an  organized  form 
of  meeting  the  need.  Organization  constitutes 
a  large  part  of  the  genius  of  the  American 
people.  There  is  something  splendidly  demo- 
cratic about  this  readiness  and  eagerness  for 
organization.  Governmental  agencies  are  slow 
to  act ;  they  are  encumbered  with  legalities  and 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES 


39 


formalities.  The  small  private  group  can  do 
things  quickly;  it  need  not  wait  for  primaries 
and  elections.  It  is  a  spontaneous  and  en- 
thusiastic response  to  a  human  need,  which  pro- 
vides many  of  the  satisfactions  of  individual 
service. 

Types  of  Voluntary  Agencies1 

The  most  prominent  types  of  voluntary 
agencies  in  the  United  States  are : 

1.  Charity  organizations. 

2.  Recreation  organizations. 

3.  Sociable  organizations. 

4.  Commercial  organizations. 

5.  Religious  organizations. 

6.  Reform  organizations. 

7.  Cooperative  organizations. 

8.  Educational  organizations. 

The  origins,  development,  and  processes  of 
most  of  these  types  of  agencies  are  much  the 
same.  All  of  these  elements  cannot  be  dis- 
cussed within  the  limits  of  this  work.  The  most 
valuable  results  will  come  to  the  student  as  he 

3  It  will  be  noted  that  the  terms  "institution,"  "agency"  and  "or- 
ganization" are  used  more  or  less  interchangeably  in  this  chapter. 
This  has  come  to  be  common  practice  although  it  should  be  remembered 
that  there  are  certain  technical  distinctions  which  should  be  observed. 
An  organization  becomes  an  agency  when  it  has  a  program  which 
extends  beyond  its  membership.  An  agency  becomes  an  institution 
when  it  is  accepted  in  the  customs  of  the  group  as  having  a  permanent 
place  and  function. 


90  THE  COMMUNITY 


studies  these  types  of  organizations  in  a  local 
community. 

Charity  organizations  include  all  agencies 
and  institutions  which  administer  voluntary  re- 
lief to  the  poor,  the  diseased,  the  distressed,  the 
deformed,  the  defective,  or  in  short  the  unad- 
justed or  maladjusted  members  of  the  com- 
munity. The  word  "philanthropy"  is  still  used 
in  connection  with  this  type  of  organization,  but 
there  is  an  increasing  tendency  to  discontinue  its 
use.  The  word  "charity"  is  also  losing  its  sig- 
nificance and  the  organizations  belonging  to  this 
type  are  now  grouped  under  the  term  "social 
work."  In  some  sections  of  the  country  where 
charity  work  is  being  officialized,  the  term 
"public  welfare"  is  supplanting  all  of  the  older 
words.  It  is,  of  course,  apparent  that  the  term 
public  welfare  does  not  adequately  describe  the 
private  agencies  and  will  probably  not  be  used 
in  this  connection. 

Organized  social  work  for  administering 
relief  to  the  unadjusted  members  of  the  com- 
munity has  produced  a  technique  of  dispensa- 
tion as  well  as  of  training  or  education.  Its 
leadership  is  a  trained  leadership  and  its  pro- 
cesses are  standardized.  Moreover,  its  de- 
velopment has  produced  a  high  degree  of 
specialization.  The  following  list  of  the  vari- 
ous differentiated  fields  of  social  work  is  an 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  91 


indication  of  the  far-reaching  influence  of  this 
one  type  of  voluntary  organization: 

1.  Family  social  work. 

2.  Child  welfare. 

3.  Delinquency. 

4.  Housing. 

5.  Public  health. 

6.  Industry. 

7.  Leisure  time. 

8.  Immigration. 

9.  Settlements. 

10.  Civic  work. 

11.  Community  organization. 

12.  Social  work  in  schools. 

It  will  be  observed  that  some  portions  of 
these  fields  of  social  work  have  already  become 
officialized  and  that  many  of  them  are  semi- 
official in  nature.  As  the  science  of  social  work 
increases  there  is  a  tendency  to  subdivide  the 
various  fields.  Nearly  all  social  workers  have 
some  contact  with  governmental  agencies,  and 
the  influence  of  voluntary  agencies  over  official 
agencies  has  been  extensive. 

The  above  classification  of  fields  of  work 
includes  recreation,  industry,  and  several  other 
activities  which  are  not  ordinarily  considered  as 


92  THE  COMMUNITY 


belonging  to  the  type  of  organization  now 
under  discussion.  "Social  work"  is  rapidly  be- 
coming a  phrase  which  includes  all  phases  of 
social  improvement  or  amelioration.  Charity 
organizations,  recreation  organizations,  reform 
organizations,  and  educational  organizations 
conform  largely  to  the  same  type. 

Sociable  organizations  are  in  the  nature  of 
clubs,  societies,  and  fraternities  which  begin 
their  existence  in  the  interest  of  serving  the 
sociable  needs  of  a  like-minded  group.  In 
nearly  all  cases,  such  organizations  develop  a 
more  extended  program;  they  frequently  be- 
come agencies  for  performing  some  special 
piece  of  social  service.  Women's  clubs,  farm- 
ers' clubs,  dramatic  clubs,  book  clubs,  boys' 
and  girls'  clubs,  secret  societies,  fraternities  and 
kindred  organizations  have  their  original  im- 
pulses in  the  desire  for  sociability.  There  are, 
of  course,  mixed  motives  and  it  is  not  at  all 
unusual  to  find  an  organization  with  a  more 
serious  purpose  develop  later  into  a  sociable 
institution.  The  rule,  however,  is  the  opposite, 
excepting  in  those  cases  where  a  natural  growth 
in  the  community  causes  a  division  of  labor  and 
the  bringing  into  existence  of  new  agencies. 

The  interesting  feature  about  sociable  organi- 
zations as  developed  up  to  the  present  is  their 
specialized  membership.    They  seldom  attempt 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  93 


democracy  in  organization.  New  members 
must  be  voted  in  on  the  basis  of  some  common 
standard  of  success,  achievement,  sex,  occupa- 
tion, or  social  status.  In  recent  years  there  have 
been  attempts  at  democratic  neighborhood  and 
community  organizations  on  a  sociable  basis, 
but  there  is  as  yet  no  sufficient  experience  upon 
which  to  base  conclusions  regarding  the  per- 
manency of  such  organizations. 

Commercial  and  cooperative  organizations 
are  based  upon  the  theory  of  collective  effective- 
ness in  the  sphere  of  economics.  The  old 
Board  of  Trade  was  a  purely  economic  organi- 
zation whose  purpose  was  to  enhance  the  pe- 
cuniary success  of  its  members.  The  modern 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  which  grew  out  of  its 
prototype  the  Board  of  Trade,  is  developing 
along  other  than  purely  economic  lines.  It  has 
committees  or  bureaus  which  deal  with  civic 
and  social  problems,  and  frequently  it  is  the 
nucleus  for  purely  social  agencies.  The  direct 
and  most  important  activities  of  the  Chambers 
of  Commerce  are  still,  however,  economic  or 
commercial. 

Rotary  and  Kiwanis  Clubs  cannot  be  classi- 
fied definitely  as  commercial  organizations. 
They  are  in  reality  organized  expressions  of 
the  service  ideal  in  business  and  professional 
life.    Their  predominant  membership  is  drawn 


94  THE  COMMUNITY 


from  the  classes  which  deal  in  commerce  and 
trade,  and  they  gradually  develop  interests  and 
activities  which  represent  the  psychology  of  the 
commercial  classes.  Merchants'  associations, 
councils  or  associations  of  persons  engaged  in 
promoting  the  same  trade  (building  trades, 
etc.),  and  similar  organizations  should  all  be 
considered  as  voluntary  commercial  organiza- 
tions. 

Cooperative  organizations  have  always  been 
tinged  with  motives  which  are  above  mere  eco- 
nomic gain.  The  social  and  spiritual  values  of 
cooperative  organizations  have  been  much  em- 
phasized in  literature,  but  unfortunately  they 
have  been  sorely  lacking  in  practice.  There  are 
indications  that  the  future  appeals  and  the 
future  practices  will  contain  other  than  eco- 
nomic factors.  The  educational  and  social  fea- 
tures of  British,  Irish,  Danish  and  Russian  co- 
operatives give  promise  of  far  greater  future 
emphasis  on  the  social  and  spiritual  basis  of 
economic  cooperative  ventures. 

Religious  organizations  are  of  two  types: 
those  which  are  denominational  or  sectarian  in 
composition,  and  those  which  are  inter-denomi- 
national. Such  organizations  came  into  exist- 
ence as  a  result  of  certain  unfilled  needs  among 
special  groupings.  Step  by  step  the  churches 
have  turned  over  certain  functions  to  private 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  95 


and  public  agencies.  But  the  churches  were  not 
contented  to  withdraw  all  of  their  influences, 
and  distinctly  religious  organizations  and 
agencies  are  the  result. 

The  two  most  prominent  inter-denomina- 
tional agencies  in  the  United  States  are  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  and  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association.  While 
these  institutions  do  not  cut  across  all  denomi- 
national or  sectarian  lines,  they  include  in  their 
membership  adherents  of  the  Christian  faith  of 
nearly  all  of  the  Protestant  churches.  They 
have  developed  a  specialized  technique  and  pro- 
fessionalized leadership.  A  thorough  system 
of  collegiate  training,  fitting  students  for  Asso- 
ciation professions,  is  supplemented  by  numer- 
ous summer  training  schools  and  institutes. 
Their  objectives  are  to  meet  the  special  reli- 
gious, recreational,  educational  and  sociable 
needs  of  girls  and  women  and  of  boys  and  men. 
They  represent  the  churches  at  work  in  meet- 
ing community  needs,  but  unlike  other  volun- 
tary agencies  their  programs  are  all  motivated 
by  distinctly  religious  impulses.  The  recent 
developments  in  both  Associations  point  to  an 
evolution  in  program  policy  which  will  greatly 
increase  their  services  to  ever-widening  groups. 

The  programs  of  the  two  great  inter-denomi- 
national agencies  have  already  reached  the 


96  THE  COMMUNITY 


stage  of  differentiation  of  function.  Thus  there 
are  secretaries  who  deal  with  boys  alone;  secre- 
taries who  deal  with  younger  girls;  secretaries 
who  deal  with  industrial  workers;  secretaries 
who  deal  with  boys  and  girls  of  town  and 
country;  secretaries  who  deal  with  continuation 
education;  secretaries  who  deal  with  the 
foreign-born;  secretaries  who  deal  with  college 
students. 

The  Jewish  Young  Men's  Associations  and 
the  Knights  of  Columbus  are  to  the  Jewish 
people  and  to  the  members  of  the  Catholic 
churches  what  the  Young  Men's  and  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations  are  to  the 
Protestant  churches. 

All  of  these  agencies  tend  to  become  true 
institutions  functioning  on  a  permanent  basis  in 
community  life. 

*  *  *  *  * 

The  local  chapters  of  the  American  Red 
Cross,  and  the  Parent-Teacher  Associations, 
Community  Chautauquas,  local  Community 
Service  organizations,  Boy  Scouts,  Girl  Scouts, 
missionary  societies,  granges,  farm  bureaus,  and 
numerous  other  agencies  and  organizations  now 
exist  in  many  American  communities.  They 
have  all  arisen  to  meet  some  definite  community 


NEEDS  AND  AGENCIES  97 

need.  The  various  aspects  of  the  problems 
raised  by  these  voluntary  agencies  will  be  con- 
sidered in  the  next  chapter. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Classify  the  various  age-groups  in  your 
community;  opposite  each  group  state  the 
various  needs  of  that  group  according  to 
the  classification  used  on  the  first  page  of 
this  chapter. 

2.  Check  off  all  needs  that  are  now  being  met 
by  some  agency;  name  the  agency. 

3.  Make  a  list  of  all  unfilled  needs,  and  sug- 
gest the  agencies  which  are  suited  to  meet 
these  needs. 

4.  Make  a  list  of  all  of  your  primary  needs 
and  all  of  your  secondary  needs. 

5.  Why  do  the  needs  of  industrial  populations 
increase  more  rapidly  than  the  needs  of 
agricultural  populations? 

6.  Why  do  many  voluntary  agencies  seek  to 
have  governmental  agencies  take  over  their 
programs? 

7.  Should  municipal  officers  be  elected  or  ap- 
pointed? Why? 

8.  Construct  list  of  all  voluntary  agencies  in: 

(a)  City  community. 

(b)  A  village. 

(c)  An  open  country  community. 


98  THE  COMMUNITY 

(d)  '  A  state. 

(e)  The  United  States. 

9.  Why  are  sociable  organizations  more  vari- 
able in  different  communities  than  commer- 
cial or  social  work  organizations? 

10.  Is  the  economic  motive  sufficient  to  make  a 
cooperative  organization  permanently  suc- 
cessful? 

11.  Is  it  possible  to  have  religious  service 
agencies  without  denominational  relation- 
ships? 

12.  Study  the  history  of  one  of  the  older  volun- 
tary agencies. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

INSTITUTIONALISE!  AND  THE  DIVISION 
OF  LABOR 

A  modern  community  which  sustains  numer- 
ous agencies  and  organizations  promoting  social 
welfare  must  sooner  or  later  answer  these 
questions : 

A.  Which  is  more  important,  the  individual's 
loyalty  to  an  institution,  or  his  loyalty  to 
his  -community? 

B.  How  many  service  agencies  can  a  given 
population  support? 

C.  How  can  the  service  agencies  be  utilized 
to  the  best  advantage  of  the  community, 
without  duplication  of  effort? 

D.  How  can  the  community  safeguard  itself 
from  depleting  its  leadership  through  the 
use  of  the  same  groups  in  all  agencies  ? 

Answers  to  some  of  these  questions  were 
hinted  at  in  Chapters  III  and  IV.  They  must 
be  faced  once  more  in  the  consideration  of 
social  agencies  and  movements.  It  has  already 
been  pointed  out  that  organizations  become 


100  THE  COMMUNITY 


agencies  with  definite  programs,  and  that 
agencies,  in  their  turn,  become  fixed  institutions 
in  the  life  of  the  community.  This  process  of 
evolution  has  been  characteristic  of  the  Nine- 
teenth and  Twentieth  Centuries. 

The  rapid  rise  of  industrial  organization 
during  this  period  has  undoubtedly  assisted  in 
the  process  of  institutionalizing  movements  and 
organizations.  An  industrial  community  is  a 
more  fluid  structure  than  an  agricultural  or 
handicraft  community.  The  fact  of  the  fluidity 
of  the  industrial  community  does  not  imply 
that  there  are  more  social  problems,  but  rather 
that  social  problems  are  more  intensified.  It 
implies  further  that  there  is  a  correspondingly 
greater  group  in  need  of  social  services,  and  a 
correspondingly  smaller  group  of  paternalistic 
leaders. 

The  country  community  in  the  United  States 
had  produced  a  small  number  of  institutions 
prior  to  the  rise  of  industry.  The  church,  the 
school,  the  home,  the  country  store,  the  grange 
and  the  press  were  its  chief  forms  of  institution- 
alism.  These  institutions  were  sufficient  to 
meet  the  needs  of  farmers  prior  to  the  time 
when  the  farmers'  products  became  world  com- 
modities and  he  became  a  world  buyer.  From 
that  time  onward  the  farmer's  life  increased 
in  complexity,  and  the  social  service  agencies  are 


institutionalise: 


101 


now  entering  the  rural  field  in  response  to  actual 
needs. 

The  great  bulk  of  the  institutions  rendering 
social  services  in  the  United  States  have  come 
into  being  in  the  last  half  century.  Their  origin 
and  rapid  multiplication  cannot  be  fully  ex- 
plained without  consideration  of  at  least  two 
other  factors.  The  science  of  sociology  un- 
doubtedly exercised  a  powerful  influence  over 
the  development  of  social  service  agencies. 
Sociology  placed  emphasis  upon  the  social  mal- 
adjustments of  a  rapidly  expanding  population; 
it  gave  publicity  to  the  phenomena  which  are 
now  called  social  problems.  In  a  more  or  less 
contemporaneous  sense  the  Protestant  churches 
of  America  acted  as  a  similar  factor.  Chris- 
tianity took  on  a  new  emphasis;  it  was  called 
the  "social  gospel."  (This  phrase  implied  that 
the  Christian  religion  had  a  worldly  mission, 
that  the  Kingdom  of  God  was  being  interpreted 
as  an  ideal  to  be  achieved  on  earth.)  Members 
of  Christian  churches  assumed  a  new  attitude 
toward  "practical  Christianity,"  or  as  it  is 
sometimes  called  "applied  Christianity."  A 
sort  of  religious  fervor  suddenly  permeated 
social  affairs,  and  poverty,  crime,  disease  and 
all  forms  of  social  maladjustment  were  re- 
garded as  evils  to  be  fought  with  the  strength 
of  the  organized  Church.    The  dictum  which 


102  THE  COMMUNITY 


imposes  upon  us  the  charge  to  be  our  brother's 
keeper  was  taken  seriously.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  this  movement  in  the  churches  was 
one  of  the  primary  forces  in  giving  rise  to  our 
present  social  agencies. 

Loyalty  to  the  Institution  or  the  Group? 

Institutions  are  inevitable  in  organized  so- 
ciety. And  institutions  in  themselves  are  not 
harmful.  They  become  social  dangers  when 
they  proceed  without  a  science  and  a  philoso- 
phy. It  is  obvious  to  the  most  casual  observer 
that  our  institutionalism  lacks  both  scientific 
principles  and  philosophic  bases.  It  has  grown 
with  but  little  conscious  direction  applied  to  its 
relationship  to  larger  social  groups.  Many  of 
our  social  agencies  have  become  vested  in- 
terests; they  lay  claim  to  certain  rights  and 
privileges  which  they  guard  zealously.  It  is 
not  an  uncommon  spectacle,  in  modern  com- 
munities, to  find  social  agencies  involved  in  dis- 
sensions and  quarrels,  almost  as  deeply  rooted 
and  as  prejudicial  as  the  old  religious  animosi- 
ties.  This  cannot,  of  course,  go  on  with  safety. 

In  order  to  be  successful  and  to  maintain 
enthusiasm,  an  institution  must  have  a  loyal 
clientele.  Can  such  a  clientele  be  developed 
without  injury  to  the  larger  community  inter- 


INSTITUTIONALISE!  103 

ests?  It  can,  if  right  principles  are  utilized. 
Among  such  principles  are : 

(1)  The  recognition  of  the  fact  that  man's 
usefulness  to  mankind  is  enhanced  by 
the  increase  of  his  social  regard.  In 
proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  man 
is  related  rightly  to  an  ever-increasing 
and  enlarging  group,  does  he  become 
socially  valuable.  To  narrow  his  in- 
terests is  to  restrict  his  social  growth. 

(2)  The  recognition  of  the  laws  of  volun- 
tary aggregation  and  association  among 
human  beings. 

(a)  An  organization,  or  group,  has  cer- 
tain elements  of  attraction  which 
draw  persons  to  it. 

(b)  An  organization  has  certain  defi- 
nite purposes  which  hold  it  to- 
gether. 

(c)  An  organization  has  ideals  which 
inspire  the  members. 

(d)  An  organization  has  modes  of  ac- 
tion which  perpetuate  dynamic  in- 
terest. 

(e)  An  organization  produces  a  period 
of  dispersal,  in  which  its  members 
gain  larger  value  by  extending  their 
interests. 

These  two  sets  of  principles  involve  a  tech- 
nique   of   organization    and  institutionalism, 


104  THE  COMMUNITY 


which  is  just  now  emerging  from  the  chaos  of 
the  last  half  century.  Institutions  which  apply 
them  can  solve  one  of  their  fundamental  prob- 
lems, namely  the  problem  of  maintaining  a  loyal 
clientele  without  interfering  with  the  unified 
progress  of  the  entire  community  group. 

The  most  difficult  lesson  to  learn  is  that 
groups  have  a  period  of  dispersal,  a  time  when 
their  members  should  be  sent  out  to  larger  tasks 
and  wider  interests.  Many  institutions,  in  a 
self-centered  manner,  attempt  to  "hold"  their 
members  and  their  officers.  If  an  institution  is 
sincerely  socially-minded  in  its  program,  one  of 
its  tasks  will  be  to  train  its  members  for  other 
services.  There  is  a  mistaken  notion  that  the 
person  who  is  vitally  interested  in  the  larger 
group — the  community — cannot  possibly  have 
an  intense  loyalty  to  his  smaller  institution. 
This  is  merely  a  misconception  of  the  funda- 
mental utility  of  institutions.  They  come  into 
existence  as  a  result  of  community  needs,  and 
they  retain  their  standing  in  the  community  only 
so  long  as  they  meet  some  definite  needs. 
There  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  of  course; 
some  institutions  become  vested  interests  and 
maintain  themselves  on  the  basis  of  traditions 
long  after  their  periods  of  real  usefulness  have 
passed.  They  have  no  organic  separate  ex- 
istence; they  are  parts  of  the  community — 


INSTITUTIONALISE!  105 


organized  parts  for  functioning  purposes  only. 
When  institutions  forget  this  fact  and  assume 
that  they  are  separate  entities,  serving  their 
own  ends  with  the  aim  of  perpetuating  them- 
selves as  institutions,  they  become  dangerous  to 
the  community  interest. 

Such  institutions  lay  claim  to  loyalties  which 
are  narrowing  and  eventually  stifling.  They  de- 
grade the  individual's  citizenship;  they  cause 
the  community  to  be  exploited  in  the  interest 
of  the  institution.  In  their  time  they  will  learn 
that  "first  things  shall  be  first,"  and  that  their 
self-centered  attitude  will  be  their  own  undoing. 
A  good  citizen  is  one  who  thinks  in  community 
terms.  In  order  to  achieve  certain  ends  for  his 
community,  he  allies  himself  with  agencies  and 
institutions  which  render  definite  services.  In 
a  growing  Democracy,  this  latter  relationship 
must  always  be  secondary.   The  good  citizen — 

Thinks  first  of  his  family  group ; 

Next  of  his  neighborhood  group; 

Next  of  his  community  group  ; 

Next  of  his  institutional  group; 

Next  of  his  county  or  district  group ; 

Next  of  his  commonwealth  or  state  group ; 

Next  of  his  national  group  ; 

Next  of  his  international  or  world  group. 


106  THE  COMMUNITY 


These  varieties  of  loyalties  do  not  neces- 
sarily imply  conflicts  of  loyalty.  The  best  citi- 
zen is  not  the  one  who  thinks  exclusively  in 
terms  of  his  family  group.  The  best  citizen  is 
the  person  who  can  distribute  his  loyalties  so 
that  the  highest  use  is  made  of  his  special 
capacities.  If  all  his  energies  go  to  a  single 
group,  he  is  destined  to  become  narrowly  cir- 
cumscribed. There  are,  of  course,  persons 
whose  capacities  are  so  limited  that  they  are 
not  to  be  expected  to  increase  materially  in 
loyalty-capacity.  Many  more  are  trained  in 
the  opposite  direction,  through  affiliation  with 
some  institutions  whose  ideals  are  narrow. 

The  Community  Movement  is  now  a  halting, 
vague  and  uncertain  process, — largely  because 
of  the  deep  inroads  which  institutions  have 
made  upon  the  community  loyalties  of  indi- 
viduals. Such  individuals  are  labeled  institu- 
tionally; they  are  known  in  the  community  for 
their  intense  loyalty  to  this  or  that  institution, 
and  not  for  their  democratic  citizenship  in  the 
community.  There  are  hopeful  signs  that  in  a 
Democracy  such  labels  will  not  "stick,"  and  that 
there  is  to  be  a  readjustment  which  will  in  no 
measure  injure  our  modern  institutions,  but 
which  will  give  them  their  scientific  place  in  the 
community  structure  and  process.  The  insti- 
tutions which  first  learn  this  truth  will  be  the 


INSTITUTIONALISM  107 


ones  privileged  to  render  the  greatest  service  in 
the  future,  organized  community. 

(3)  The  recognition  of  the  social  law  of  the 
division  of  labor. 

As  life  increases  in  complexity  it  becomes 
more  social.  That  is  to  say,  it  creates  more 
needs  which  can  only  be  met  by  cooperation. 
Our  primitive  ancestors  had  fewer  wants  than 
we  have.  They  also  had  fewer  diseases.  Their 
social  organization  was  necessarily  simple  and 
institutionalism  played  a  very  small  part  -in  its 
processes.  The  first  institutions  were  extensive 
rather  than  intensive  in  function.  The  evolu- 
tion of  institutional  growth,  in  an  increasingly 
complex  society,  is  from  general  programs  to 
specific  programs. 

The  Institutional  Evolution  of  the  Church 

The  early  Christian  Church  was  an  institu- 
tion with  generalized  functions.  Among  these 
functions  were: 

(a)  Expounding  religious  doctrine. 

(b)  Religious  and  ethical  education. 

(c)  General  education. 

(d)  Economic  control. 

(e)  Philanthropy. 


108  THE  COMMUNITY 


In  addition  to  these  functions  there  have 
been,  at  various  periods  of  the  evolution  of  the 
Church,  other  offices  which  the  Church  dis- 
charged. It  has  at  times  been  specifically  politi- 
cal in  a  semi-functionary  sense.  In  its  more 
modern  stages  of  evolution,  some  branches  of 
the  Church  have  assumed  recreational  and 
sociable  functions,  but  these  must  be  regarded 
as  atavistic  phenomena  and  not  as  a  part  of  the 
more  fundamental  evolution.  In  an  historical 
sense,  the  evolution  of  the  Church  has  been 
from  generalized  function  to  specific  function. 
This  has  been  particularly  true  of  the  Protes- 
tant branch  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  for 
the  obvious  reason  that  divided  congregations 
in  a  community  could  not  continue  to  serve  the 
entire  community. 

Step  by  step,  the  Church  relinquished  parts 
of  its  original  or  accrued  functions.  In  the 
United  States  the  Church  was  explicitly  sepa- 
rated from  the  State,  and  from  the  sphere  of 
politics.  Soon  after  the  beginnings  of  the  new 
Nation,  education  was  taken  from  the  Church, 
and  a  little  later  philanthropy  followed.  The 
Church  had  long  since  abandoned  economic 
control. 

During  the  last  thirty  years,  or  more,  there 
has  been  a  distinct  Church  movement  which 


INSTITUTIONALISE! 


109 


goes  by  the  name  of  the  "institutional  church." 
This  movement  is  based  upon  the  theory  that 
the  Church  is  losing  out  in  the  institutional 
rivalry  of  the  times  because  it  is  not  rendering 
larger  services  for  its  members  and  the  com- 
munity7. Institutional  churches  provide  play- 
grounds, motion  pictures,  cafeterias  and  numer- 
ous other  services.  From  the  sociological  view- 
point there  are  two  possible  dangers  in  this 
movement.  In  the  first  place,  it  may  prevent 
division  of  labor  in  such  service.  In  the  second 
place,  the  church  at  times  makes  of  these  serv- 
ices vested  interests,  which  will  later  make  it 
difficult  for  specialized  agencies  to  function 
properly  in  the  community.  There  is  an  added 
objection  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  church 
itself,  and  that  is  the  fact  that  the  church's 
fundamental  function  of  religious,  or  spiritual 
motivation,  is  likely  to  suffer  when  it  is  encum- 
bered with  the  doing  of  many  things. 

In  small  communities  where  there  is  but  one 
church  or  in  communities  where  there  are  a 
small  number  of  churches,  it  may  be  expedient 
for  the  church  to  render  certain  social  services. 
If  this  is  done  with  an  idea  based  upon  the 
assumption  that  specialized  agencies  will  be 
brought  to  the  community  later  to  take  over 


110  THE  COMMUNITY 


these  services,  such  a  program  must  be  recog- 
nized as  one  of  great  value. 

The  law  of  the  division  of  labor  is  based 
upon  the  following  premises : 

(a)  A  specialized  agency  can  perform  serv- 
ices more  efficiently  than  a  general  one. 

(b)  The  institution  which  initiates  a  pro- 
gram, and  then  develops  other  agencies 
to  take  over  this  program,  thereby  re- 
tains more  energy  and  time  for  its 
specialty. 

(c)  A  generalized  program  is  likely  to  de- 
tract from  the  institution's  primary 
function. 

(d)  The  specialized  agencies  have  been 
called  into  existence  as  a  result  of  the 
increasing  complexity  of  modern  social 
living.  Their  mission  will  be  seriously 
hampered  if  generalized  agencies  pro- 
mote similar  programs. 

(e)  The  specialized  agencies  are  here,  and 
most  of  them  are  likely  to  remain. 
General  programs,  promoted  by  institu- 
tions, are  destined  to  produce  serious 
overlapping  and  duplication  of  work. 

A  consideration  of  the  law  of  the  division  of 
labor  indicates  that  modern  institutions  grow 
by  the  loss  of  function,  and  not  by  the  increase 
of  function.    In  other  words,  they  increase  the 


INSTITUTIONALISM  1 1 1 


intensity  of  their  programs  when  in  healthy 
growth ;  conversely,  they  extend  their  programs 
when  they  have  become  pathological  and  out  of 
harmony  with  modern  social  process. 

The  Church  has  been  selected  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  law  of  division  of  labor.  The  same 
principle  applies  to  all  other  institutions.  The 
school  center  movement  may  appear  to  be  an 
exception  to  the  rule.  Upon  closer  study  it  will 
be  revealed  that  this  is  not  the  case.  The  suc- 
cessful school  centers  are  not  reestablishing  lost 
functions;  they  are  rather  assuming  new  or 
neglected  functions.  The  most  successful 
school  centers  are  those  in  which  the  highest 
and  best  use  is  made  of  the  specialized  agencies 
of  the  community.  The  institutional  church 
movement  may  be  said  to  have  had  insufficient 
time  to  demonstrate  its  program.  This  may 
be  true,  but  there  is  no  scientific  evidence  that 
the  institutional  churches  of  longest  standing 
have  increased  in  spiritual  power.  This  must 
be  the  final  test.  In  the  concluding  chapter, 
this  question  will  be  approached  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  coming  function  of  the  Church  in 
the  organized  community.  The  positive  issues, 
which  may  not  appear  clearly  at  this  time,  will 
then  be  brought  forward. 


112  THE  COMMUNITY 


How  Many  Agencies  Can  a  Community 
Support? 

There  is  little  scientific  study  upon  which  an 
answer  to  this  query  may  be  based.  The  facts 
in  regard  to  one  community  may  throw  some 
light  on  the  problem. 

In  this  community  there  are  eighteen  thou- 
sand people.  In  addition  to  twenty-two  churches 
and  six  schools,  there  are  twenty-three  special- 
ized service  agencies.  Sixteen  of  these  agencies 
employ  paid  workers.  All  of  them  raise  funds 
by  subscription  and  through  memberships. 
The  time  came  when  there  was  felt  to  be  a  need 
of  another  agency.  The  leading  citizens,  upon 
whose  shoulders  fell  the  burden  of  economic 
support,  agreed  that  the  need  existed.  Serious 
attempts  were  made  to  create  favorable  senti- 
ment. There  was  no  discoverable  objection  to 
the  proposed  new  agency.  Finally,  a  small 
group  of  citizens  decided  to  make  a  study  of  the 
community's  resources,  to  determine  whether  or 
not  there  were  any  tangible  economic  barriers. 
Their  conclusion  was  that  such  barriers  existed, 
and  that  it  was  not  possible  to  introduce  the  new 
agency  without  injury  to  those  already  estab- 
lished. Further  investigation  by  persons  who 
were  not  citizens  of  this  community  sustained 
this  opinion. 


INSTITUTIONALISE!  113 


The  above  example  does  not  imply  that  there 
is  a  definite  ratio  between  a  given  population 
and  the  number  of  agencies  which  it  can  sup- 
port. This  is  but  one  of  the  factors  to  be  con- 
sidered.   Other  factors  are : 

(a)  Do  the  existing  agencies  function  effi- 
ciently? 

(b)  Is  the  supporting  clientele  of  the  exist- 
ing agencies  too  limited  in  number? 

(c)  Is  there  a  period  of  financial  depression? 

(d)  Are  the  existing  agencies  willing  to  co- 
operate in  bringing  the  new  agency  to 
the  community? 

In  Chapter  IX  the  processes  which  are  in- 
volved in  the  community's  action  will  be  dis- 
cussed. This  discussion  should  reveal  other 
factors  which  affect  the  number  of  service 
agencies  which  a  community  can  support.  It 
becomes  increasingly  pertinent  that  some  scien- 
tific principles  must  be  applied  to  this  problem. 
These  principles  await  further  study. 

How  May  Duplication  Be  Prevented? 

At  this  juncture  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
duplication  of  effort  among  social  agencies  is 
inevitable,  so  long  as  the  law  of  the  division  of 
labor  is  not  recognized.  Mere  duplication  is 
not  in  itself  harmful;  it  becomes  harmful  when 


114  THE  COMMUNITY 


it  is  not  recognized  as  duplication,  or  when  the 
duplicating  agencies  insist  upon  "holding  fast" 
to  an  established  program.  The  process  of 
eliminating  duplication  should  not  be  allowed 
to  become  a  mere  delimiting  of  function.  Em- 
phasis should  rather  be  placed  upon  insisting 
that  the  specialized  agencies  cover  their  special 
fields  thoroughly.  Wherever  duplication  occurs 
it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  some  agencies  are  not 
doing  effective  work  in  their  specialized  fields 
of  service.  The  best  utilization  of  service 
agencies  can  only  be  secured  when  such  agencies 
are  coordinated  by  means  of  a  council,  or  fed- 
eration, of  all  agencies.  Inasmuch  as  this  in- 
volves one  of  the  phases  of  community  organi- 
zation, it  will  be  discussed  later. 

The  Diminishing  Returns  of  Overworked 
Leadership 

The  overhead  machinery  of  the  social 
agencies  of  a  modern  community  presents  a 
tangle  of  "interlocking  directorates."  The 
same  personnel,  with  only  minor  exceptions,  is 
used  in  nearly  all  of  the  agencies  and  institutions 
of  the  community.  The  answer  to  the  question, 
"How  can  the  community  safeguard  itself 
from  depleting  its  leadership,  through  the  use 
of  the  same  groups  in  all  agencies?"  is  con- 
tained in  the  word  "Democracy." 


INSTITUTIONALISM  115 


The  urge  toward  leadership  is  stronger  and 
more  commonly  distributed  than  is  generally 
supposed.  We  lack  leadership  because  we  lack 
faith  in  the  so-called  common  man.  We  use  the 
same  leaders  over  and  over  until  they  reach  the 
point  of  diminishing  returns,  and  then  we  flatten 
out  on  the  plane  of  inertia. 

We  use  the  same  leadership  in  all  movements 
because  we  have  an  erroneous  concept  of  the 
elements  of  leadership.  We  assume  that  be- 
cause a  person  has  won  success  in  some  form, 
he  is  destined  to  be  successful  in  others.  There 
is  a  modicum  of  truth  in  this  assumption,  but 
there  is  also  a  burden  of  error.  The  major 
financial  support  for  most  of  our  institutions 
comes  from  persons  of  wealth.  This  is  their 
rightful  contribution.  It  is  a  misapprehension, 
however,  to  conclude  that  because  they  have 
wealth  they  must  also  have  the  ability  to  wisely 
direct  social  movements.  From  the  standpoint 
of  democratic  process,  it  is  also  unjust  to  place 
the  control  of  institutions  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  furnish  the  major  portion  of  the  economic 
support.  It  would  not  be  good  political  science 
to  assume  that  the  citizen  who  paid  the  largest 
amount  in  taxes  should  be  the  person  with  the 
greatest  influence  in  government.  That  this 
assumption  is  made,  and  that  it  is  acted  upon, 
is  not  to  be  denied;  it  is,  however,  unsound 


116  THE  COMMUNITY 


political  science.  It  is  equally  unsound  in  prin- 
ciple when  applied  to  the  social  institutions. 
Social  institutions  should  be  supported  in  pro- 
portion to  economic  capacity,  but  they  should 
be  directed  according  to  intellectual  and  social 
capacity. 

When  a  person  invests  money  in  an  institu- 
tion he  is  likely  to  be  interested  in  the  manage- 
ment of  that  institution.  There  is  no  legiti- 
mate objection  to  this  accepted  axiom.  The 
great  difficulty  with  most  of  our  institutions  is 
that  they  are  supported  by  too  few  people. 
The  man  who  contributes  the  dollar  may  be 
more  valuable  to  the  management  of  the  insti- 
tution than  the  man  who  contributes  one  thou- 
sand dollars.  He  may  have  great  poten- 
tialities for  leadership.  We  have  grossly 
neglected  him.  When  social  institutions  are 
more  definitely  related  to  the  community  by 
means  of  community  organization,  we  shall 
have  greatly  increased  resources  of  leadership. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Compare  the  number  of  social  institutions 
in  a  rural  and  an  urban  community. 

2.  Secure  the  dates  of  the  foundation  of  fif- 
teen prominent  social  agencies  in  the 
United  States.    Compare  these  dates  with 


INSTITUTIONALISE! 


117 


economic  and  political  movements  which 
were  more  or  less  contemporaneous. 

3.  Name  three  Church  leaders  responsible  for 
the  rise  of  the  emphasis  upon  .the  social 
implications  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Discuss  their  contributions. 

4.  Analyze  your  membership  in  some  institu- 
tion, according  to  the  theory  of  group  at- 
traction, ideals,  purposes,  action  and  dis- 
persal. 

5.  Study  types  of  citizenship  according  to  the 
circumference  of  their  social  regard; 'be- 
ginning with  the  family  and  ending  with 
the  human  family,  or  the  world. 

6.  Make  an  analysis  of  the  evolution  of  the 
family,  in  the  light  of  the  law  of  the  divi- 
sion of  labor. 

7.  Study  other  institutions  such  as  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  organized 
charities,  etc. 

8.  Does  the  law  of  the  division  of  labor  in 
social  affairs  have  any  similarities  to  the 
corresponding  law  in  industrial  affairs? 
Discuss  and  analyze  these  similarities. 

9.  Study  the  budgets  of  the  social  agencies  of 
some  community.  Compare  these  figures 
with  the  wealth  resources  of  the  com- 
munity. Compare  the  studies  of  all  mem- 
bers of  the  class,  with  a  view  to  charting 
the  factors  of  wealth,  number  of  agencies 
and  population. 


118  THE  COMMUNITY 


10.  Study  the  social  agencies  of  some  com- 
munity to  discover  the  amount  and  the  na- 
ture of  duplication  of  effort. 

11.  Study  the  social  agencies  of  some  com- 
munity with  the  view  of  determining  the 
extent  of  duplication  of  leadership. 

12.  What  plans  would  you  suggest  to  institu- 
tions desiring  to  increase  the  number  and 
worth  of  their  leaders? 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  PROCESS  OF  COMMUNITY  ACTION 

The  community  as  a  social  body  seldom  acts 
as  a  single  unit.  Its  achievements  are  more 
likely  to  be  the  result  of  the  activities  of  a  few 
coordinated  groups  within  the  community. 
The  ideal  Democratic  Community  would'  be 
completely  articulated;  all  of  its  parts  would 
be  related  to  the  community  process.  Such 
communities  do  not  exist,  nor  has  the  demo- 
cratic idea  been  adequately  applied  to  com- 
munity action.  There  are  indications  that 
many  communities  are  groping  toward  this 
ideal,  however,  and  the  substance  of  this  chap- 
ter is  based  upon  these  gropings. 

In  our  present  state  of  group  organization 
and  of  institutional  allegiances,  it  is  folly  to 
think  of  the  community  as  an  association  of  in- 
dividuals. It  is  an  association  of  groups.  In 
the  functional  sense,  it  is  these  groups  which 
give  direction  and  policy  to  community  action. 
In  making  the  study  which  forms  the  basis  of 
this  chapter,  community  projects  were  con- 
sidered.   They  were  not  in  a  strict  manner 


120 


THE  COMMUNITY 


community  projects,  but  projects  which  some 
groups  in  the  community  promoted  for  the  pre- 
sumed good  of  the  community.  One  group 
wished  to  establish  a  chamber  of  commerce, 
another  a  Young  Women's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, another  a  playground.  Slightly  more  than 
seven  hundred  such  projects  have  been  studied 
with  the  aim  of  determining  whether,  or  not, 
any  psychological  and  sociological  facts  might 
be  induced. 

The  interpretation  of  this  study  will  be  aided 
by  reference  to  the  theory  of  Democracy,  as 
discussed  in  Chapter  VI. 

The  Democratic  Process  cannot  be  dia- 
gramed with  the  individual  at  the  center,  and 
the  group  at  the  circumference.  Neither  can  it 
be  pictured  with  the  group  at  the  center  and 
the  individual  at  the  circumference.  A  new 
graph  is  needed.  The  circle  is  not  adequate. 
An  ellipse  with  the  individual  and  the  group  as 
focal  points,  equi-distant  from  each  other  and 
from  the  circumference,  will  be  more  service- 
able. 

Steps  in  Community  Action 

It  appears  that  there  are  certain  definite 
steps  which  community  groups  pass  through  in 
arriving  at  points  of  action.  The  division  of 
these  steps,  here  attempted,  is  quite  arbitrary, 


COMMUNITY  ACTION 


121 


and  should  not  be  considered  in  a  strictly  scien- 
tific manner.  Persons  who  have  studied  these 
summaries  do  not  agree  on  the  classification 
here  used.  Further  study  and  analysis  of  a 
larger  number  of  projects  may  change  the 
classification  materially. 

A  portion  of  these  steps  in  community  action 
are  sociological,  and  some  are  psychological. 
There  is  no  apparent  means  by  which  the 
sciences  of  sociology  and  of  social  psychology 
can  be  separated  in  this  analysis. 

Step  Number  One 
Consciousness  of  need;  some  person,  either 
within  or  without  the  community,  expresses  the 
need  which  is  later  represented  by  the  definite 
project. 

Step  Number  Two 
Spreading  the  consciousness  of  need;  a 
leader,  within  some  institution  or  group  within 
the  community,  convinces  his  or  her  group,  or 
a  portion  of  the  group,  of  the  reality  of  the 
need. 

Step  Number  Three 
Projection  of  consciousness  of  need;  the 
group  interested  attempts  to  project  the  con- 
sciousness of  need  upon  the  leadership  of  the 
community;  the  consciousness  of  need  becomes 
more  general. 


122  THE  COMMUNITY 


Step  Number  Four 

Emotional  impulse  to  meet  the  need  quickly; 
some  influential  assistance  is  enlisted,  in  the 
attempt  to  arrive  at  a  quick  means  of  meeting 
the  need. 

Step  Number  Five 

Presentation  of  other  solutions;  other  means 
of  meeting  the  need  are  presented. 

Step  Number  Six 

Conflict  of  solutions;  various  groups  lend 
their  support  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  various 
solutions  presented. 

Step  Number  Seven 

Investigation;  it  appears  to  be  increasingly 
customary  to  pause  at  this  point,  and  to  inves- 
tigate the  project  with  expert  assistance. 
(This  step,  however,  is  usually  omitted  and  the 
following  one  takes  its  place.) 

Step  Number  Eight 

Open  discussion  of  issue;  a  public  mass  meet- 
ing or  gathering  of  some  sort  is  held,  at  which 
the  project  is  presented,  and  the  groups  with 
most  influence  attempt  to  secure  adoption  of 
their  plans. 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  123 


Step  Number  Nine 

Integration  of  solutions;  the  various  solu- 
tions presented  are  tested,  with  an  effort  to  re- 
tain something  out  of  each,  in  the  practicable 
solution  which  is  now  emerging. 

Step  Number  Ten 

Compromise  on  basis  of  tentative  progress; 
certain  groups  relinquish  certain  elements  of 
their  plans  in  order  to  save  themselves  from 
complete  defeat,  and  the  solution  which  results 
is  a  compromise  with  certain  reservations.  The 
means  selected  for  meeting  the  need  are  not 
satisfactory  to  all  groups,  but  are  regarded  as 
tentatively  progressive. 

Many  projects  end  at  Step  Number  Four, 
on  the  emotional  plane.  Other  projects  are 
closed,  either  favorably  or  unfavorably,  at 
some  one  of  the  following  six  steps.  (It  must 
be  remembered  that  all  projects  do  not  origi- 
nate in  the  manner  here  indicated,  nor  do  all  of 
them  pass  through  all  of  these  steps.  This  Out- 
line merely  represents  the  procedure  that 
emerges  from  a  study  of  those  projects  which 
are  more  or  less  typical  of  the  processes  that 
make  up  the  present  stage  of  community  ac- 
tion.) The  ten  steps  described  will  now  be  con- 
sidered in  detail: 


124  THE  COMMUNITY 


Consciousness  of  need.  The  consciousness 
of  a  need  may  appear  on  account  of  an  emo- 
tional, intellectual,  or  accidental  cause.  Fre- 
quently some  misfortune  to  a  member  of  the 
community  brings  about  the  sudden  revelation 
that  the  community  lacks  the  means  for  the 
prevention  of  such  a  catastrophe.  Upon  this 
accidental  basis  many  projects  receive  their 
original  impetus.  Occasionally  some  speaker 
moves  the  community  to  a  realization  of  its 
needs.  In  some  communities  there  are  intel- 
lectual circles  in  which  problems  of  a  social 
nature  are  discussed;  such  discussion  frequently 
leads  to  definite  realization  of  needs. 

Service  agencies  and  investigative  agencies 
are  sometimes  invited  to  study  communities 
with  the  object  of  discovering  needs.  There 
are  wide  differences  of  opinion  and  misunder- 
standings in  regard  to  this  method  of  approach 
to  the  needs  of  communities.  Many  contend 
that  such  agencies  often  "manufacture"  certain 
needs,  which  call  for  the  services  of  the  particu- 
lar agency  making  the  study.  This  undoubtedly 
happens  in  many  instances,  and  the  particular 
bias,  which  motivates  the  workers  of  an  agency, 
is  apt  to  cause  incorrect  interpretations. 

The  study  of  over  seven  hundred  community 
projects  does  not  reveal  that  the  ultimate  suc- 
cess of  a  project  is  affected  by  the  manner  in 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  125 


which  the  consciousness  of  need  originates.  The 
manner  in  which  the  project  proceeds,  after  it 
has  once  been  started,  is  intimately  related  to 
the  theory  of  Democracy,  and  is  highly  impor- 
tant in  so  far  as  ultimate  success  is  concerned. 
The  most  frequent  cause  for  failure  in  relation 
to  this  first  step  is  haste.  Most  enthusiasts, 
especially  those  representing  an  "outside"  serv- 
ice agency,  do  not  take  sufficient  pains  and  exer- 
cise full  patience  in  the  process  of  spreading  the 
consciousness  of  need  in  the  community. 

Spreading  the  consciousness  of  need.  If  the 
need  becomes  conscious  in  the  mind  of  a  recog- 
nized leader  of  ample  experience  in  the  given 
community,  it  usually  follows  that  the  right 
method  of  spreading  this  consciousness  is  uti- 
lized. But  most  communities  have  several 
types  of  leaders.  There  are  true  leaders,  false 
leaders,  assumed  leaders,  presumed  leaders, 
self-imposed  leaders,  accidental  leaders,  leaders 
out-of-their-sphere,  selfish  leaders,  social-pres- 
tige leaders,  economic-prestige  leaders,  politi- 
cal-prestige leaders  and  leaders  undiscovered. 
The  relation  between  leadership  and  the  Demo- 
cratic Process  will  be  discussed  in  a  succeeding 
chapter,  and  is  mentioned  here  only  to  indicate 
its  vital  importance  in  community  action. 

The  good  leader  has  a  following;  it  may  be 
within  a  church,  a  business  group,  a  labor  union, 


126  THE  COMMUNITY 


or  a  sociable  club.  This  following  is  psycho- 
logically receptive  to  ideas  emanating  from  its 
leader.  As  regards  most  projects,  in  modern 
communities,  some  such  leader  takes  the  ini- 
tiative in  spreading  the  consciousness  of  need 
within  his  group  or  following.  This  mode  of 
action  is  now  so  prevalent  in  our  communities 
that  its  acceptance  amounts  almost  to  an  axiom. 
Projects  which  are  just  emerging  from  the  con- 
sciousness of  need  stage  are  spoken  of  in  rela- 
tion to  some  particular  group.  "If  Blank 
Group  takes  this  matter  up,  it  will  succeed,"  is 
the  terse  idiomatic  expression  of  this  theory. 

Projection  of  consciousness  of  need.  There 
are  cross-currents  of  group  allegiances,  within 
the  group,  which  are  utilized  in  spreading  the 
consciousness  of  need.  Many  of  its  members 
are  also  related  to  other  groups  in  a  vital 
manner.  Through  these  members  other  vital- 
interest  groups  are  brought  within  the  sphere  of 
consciousness  of  need. 

Friction  often  develops  at  this  point.  If 
there  are  jealousies  between  these  various 
groups,  and  there  usually  are,  suspicions  arise. 
The  question  of  who  is  to  receive  the  "credit," 
meaning  the  glory  and  honor,  for  this  particu- 
lar project,  in  case  it  succeeds,  affects  the  recep- 
tivity of  other  groups.  This  is  to  be  expected 
and  is  not  in  any  important  degree  dangerous. 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  127 


It  merely  points  to  the  necessity  of  inter-group 
coordination.  Where  such  coordination  is 
totally  lacking,  projects  are  invariably  "put 
through"  in  an  anti-democratic  fashion.  Con- 
versely, where  such  coordination  exists,  there  is 
little  fear  of  applying  the  principles  of  Democ- 
racy. 

There  is  as  yet  a  scant  amount  of  theory  and 
principle  in  regard  to  the  action  of  these  vital- 
interest  groups.  They  are  not  yet  accepted  in 
fact  as  being  vital;  they  are  not  accepted  as 
dominant  realities ;  and  until  they  are  there  will 
be  little  science  in  community  action. 

The  inter-action  of  leaders  and  groups  is  an 
effective  way  of  projecting  the  consciousness  of 
need  upon  the  community.  In  city  communities, 
the  press  and  other  avenues  of  communication 
are  utilized  in  bringing  the  issue  to  the  attention 
of  the  organized  and  unorganized  mass  of  the 
people.  During  periods  of  great  stress  and  un- 
balanced emotionalism,  such  as  war  periods,  cer- 
tain methods  of  publicity  may  be  used  which  are 
totally  unsuccessful  in  the  more  calm  and  peace- 
ful times.  If  patriotism  to  the  larger  unit,  the 
state  or  nation,  may  be  invoked,  publicity  takes 
on  an  imperious  and  compulsory  air.  The  need 
becomes  a  peril,  and  the  consciousness  of  the 
need  becomes  a  duty.  When  the  psychology  of 
the  public  is  in  a  normal  state,  the  publicity  of  a 


128  THE  COMMUNITY 


project  must  make  a  double  appeal;  it  must 
reach  the  intellect  as  well  as  the  emotions. 

The  most  effective  means  of  projecting  the 
consciousness  of  need  are  group  meetings  and 
discussions.  Each  vital-interest  group  ap- 
proaches the  issue  with  a  slightly  different  view- 
point, interpreted,  of  course,  with  a  group  bias. 
These  various  viewpoints  throw  new  light  on 
the  need,  and  educate  many  people  to  a  new 
insight  into  the  community  process.  This 
method  also  produces  the  result  of  fairness  and 
of  willingness  to  submit  to  the  rigors  of  debate. 
In  large  communities,  this  method  must  be  sup- 
plemented by  the  more  general  types  of  pub- 
licity. 

Emotional  impulse  to  meet  the  need  quickly. 
During  the  process  of  projecting  the  need 
through  the  various  groups  of  the  community, 
it  usually  occurs  that  some  leader  or  some  group 
makes  a  proposal  for  a  quick  solution  of  the 
problem.  There  appears  a  sudden  impulse  of 
shame,  coupled  with  pride;  the  community's 
honor  is  placed  at  stake.  Hurried  conferences 
with  small  groups,  emotionalized  publicity,  and 
semi-religious  fervor  accompany  this  step. 
Something  must  be  done  and  at  once ! 

Study  of  numerous  projects  reveals  the  fact 
that  it  is  unwise  to  arrive  at  a  solution  of  a 
problem  at  this  point.    The  emotional  solution 


COMMUNITY  ACTION 


129 


is  likely  to  prevent  ample  discussion.  It  "heads 
off"  certain  conflicts  and  objections  which  have 
not  yet  emerged.  Existing  agencies  are  over- 
looked. The  wrong  type  of  leadership  is 
selected,  for  it  is  seldom  that  the  emotional 
leader  can  also  be  the  one  who  can  construct  a 
workable  program,  for  the  days  after  the  emo- 
tional interest  has  spent  itself. 

It  is  a  common  occurrence  to  witness  a  trans- 
fer of  leadership  during  this  step.  The  person 
or  the  group  that  originated  the  project  is  rele- 
gated to  the  background,  while  the  person  or 
the  group  with  the  emotional  appeal  comes  into 
ascendancy. 

The  leader  who  attempts  to  use  scientific 
principles  in  promoting  community  projects  is 
likely  to  make  the  error  of  overlooking  the 
value  of  this  emotional  interest.  It  has  deep 
values  which  need  to  be  utilized.  The  emotional 
leaders  have  an  important  role  in  the  com- 
munity process,  and  it  is  dangerous  to  allow 
them  to  suffer  defeat.  Emotionalism  must  be 
intellectualized.  This  cannot  take  place  in  the 
community  process  without  discussion  and  con- 
flict. 

Presentation  of  other  solutions.  If  the  emo- 
tional impetus  is  not  sufficiently  strong  to  con- 
summate the  project,  various  solutions  are  pre- 
sented by  other  leaders  and  groups.    To  many 


130  THE  COMMUNITY 


leaders  this  appears  to  be  a  stage  of  unneces- 
sary delay.  They  chafe  under  this  delay  and 
sometimes  unjustly  ascribe  ulterior  motives  to 
those  who  cause  the  postponement.  There  are, 
of  course,  many  cases  in  which  this  is  true ;  cer- 
tain obstructionist  elements  in  the  community 
use  the  emotional  period  as  an  effective  time  for 
imposing  obstacles.  It  is  more  frequently  true, 
however,  that  those  who  present  other  solutions 
are  merely  expressing  an  interest,  generated 
within  their  vital-interest  groups.  This  interest 
should  be  conserved.  It  becomes  invaluable  in 
the  succeeding  step. 

Conflict  of  solutions.  The  subterranean  con- 
flicts within  the  community  need  to  be  brought 
to  the  surface.  They  continue  to  be  dangerous 
to  community  action  so  long  as  they  remain  ob- 
scured. They  may  be  mere  divergences  of 
opinion  in  the  beginning,  but  if  left  in  the  dark 
they  become  real  conflicts  between  individuals 
and  groups. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  leadership  again  comes 
to  trial.  The  leader  imbued  with  the  ideals  of 
Democracy  welcomes  the  conflict.  The  auto- 
cratic leader  attempts  to  submerge  the  conflict, 
or  to  proceed  as  though  it  did  not  exist.  The 
submerged  conflicts  never  remain  submerged. 
They  reappear  to  haunt  the  community  through 
all  its  action.    Moreover,  they  increase  in  in- 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  131 


tensity  with  time,  and  sometimes  reach  the 
stage  of  bitterness  and  hatred.  Projects  which 
are  consummated  at  this  stage  appear  to  be  suc- 
cessful for  a  number  of  years,  but  there  comes 
a  time  when  the  old  conflicts  come  to  the  sur- 
face, and  success  is  imperiled. 

The  leader,  or  the  group,  managing  the 
project,  adopts  one  of  two  courses:  a  scientific 
investigation  of  the  project  may  be  urged,  or  a 
move  may  be  made  toward  a  Democratic  dis- 
cussion on  a  community-wide  basis.  Both 
methods  may  be  used. 

Investigation.  The  investigative  stage 
should,  of  course,  appear  much  earlier  in  the 
process.  It  seldom  does.  There  is  an  increas- 
ing tendency  toward  investigations  conducted 
by  certain  agencies  within  the  community,  or  by 
some  expert  called  in  from  the  outside.  The 
investigation  is  ordinarily  used  at  the  point 
when  it  is  believed  that  scientific  testimony  will 
outweigh  objections.  This  means  that  it  usually 
comes  during  the  later  stages  of  community 
action. 

In  such  organizations  as  chambers  of  com- 
merce it  is  coming  to  be  the  practice  to  appoint 
special  committees  to  study  certain  proposed 
projects,  in  the  light  of  what  other  communities 
have  done.    The  reports  of  these  committees 


132  THE  COMMUNITY 


are  then  used  in  public  meetings  as  the  impelling 
force. 

If  no  investigation  is  ordered,  and  if  the 
project  cannot  be  consummated  within  the 
vital-interest  groups,  an  appeal  is  made  to  the 
general  public.  This  appeal  also  comes  follow- 
ing the  investigation. 

Open  discussion  of  issue.  Most  American 
communities  continue  a  faith  in  mass  action;  at 
least  they  simulate  such  a  faith.  There  are 
many  grounds  for  believing  that  the  so-called 
dynamic  leaders  of  our  communities,  in  actual- 
ity, place  their  faith  in  individual  or  group 
action.  The  Democratic  Process  has  certain 
traditional  and  lingering  affections  in  the  minds 
of  even  those  who  disobey  its  principles.  Most 
leaders  like  to  think  that  they  have  acted  demo- 
cratically, and  it  frequently  happens  that  those 
who  are  least  capable  of  utilizing  Democracy 
speak  most  loudly  in  its  praise. 

The  community  mass-meeting  is  our  favor- 
ite recourse.  A  mass-meeting  is  a  place  of  open 
and  free  discussion.  It  is  the  free-born  citizen's 
opportunity  for  expression.  Under  modern 
methods  of  manipulation  of  mass  psychology, 
it  often  becomes  a  degenerate  farce  of  Democ- 
racy. Every  detail  of  the  meeting  is  planned  in 
advance  by  the  leaders.  Speakers  are  "primed" 
to  say  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time.  The 


COMMUNITY  ACTION 


133 


objectors  are  silenced  by  the  preponderance  of 
opposite  evidence.  Step  by  step,  the  engineers 
of  the  mass-meeting  lead  the  audience  on  to  its 
"spontaneous"  support  of  the  project.  This 
type  of  mass-meeting  is  even  more  dangerous 
than  the  emotional  effervescence,  discussed 
above.  It  is  more  dangerous  because  it  is  dis- 
honest; it  pretends  to  go  through  the  motions 
of  Democratic  action  while  its  very  purpose  is 
to  defeat  it. 

Such  meetings  can  be  organized  with  such 
skillful  technique  that  all  conflicts  are  sub- 
merged. The  discussions  give  no  aid  to  the 
rationalization  of  the  project.  Those  who 
came  with  the  hope  of  making  either  a  positive 
or  a  negative  contribution  to  the  discussion  go 
away  with  a  hidden  feeling  of  resentment.  In 
their  hearts  they  know  that  the  meeting  was 
"fixed,"  and  that  their  objections  would  not 
have  been  welcomed  or  understood.  It  is  this 
type  of  maneuvering  which  has  done  so  much 
to  make  Democracy  appear  to  be  impractical. 
Those  who  engage  in  this  form  of  promotion 
are  the  real  enemies  of  Democracy. 

It  takes  courage,  the  courage  of  firm  convic- 
tions, to  permit  conflicts  to  appear  in  a  public 
meeting.  There  must  be  a  great  deal  of 
righteousness  and  unselfishness  on  the  side  of 
the  proposed  project  before  it  can  be  attempted. 


134  THE  COMMUNITY 


But  conflict  is  the  only  possible  method  by 
which  ideas  can  be  clarified  in  group  action. 
When  once  the  conflicting  factors  are  brought 
into  the  open,  they  lose  most  of  their  force; 
providing,  of  course,  that  the  conflicting  factors 
are  based  upon  unjust  objections.  It  may  take 
more  time,  and  it  certainly  requires  infinitely 
more  patience  and  faith  in  man  to  use  the 
Democratic  Process.  The  world  now  awaits 
such  patience,  faith  and  courage.  If  Democ- 
racy cannot  be  applied  to  the  problems  of  the 
small  local  community,  how  futile  it  is  to  speak 
of  it  as  a  national  or  an  international  ideal ! 

Integration  of  solutions.  The  various  solu- 
tions for  a  project,  which  appear  during  its 
process,  cannot  be  added  together.  Arithmeti- 
cal methods  cannot  be  applied  to  human  and 
psychological  processes.  The  final  solution 
which  emerges  from  discussion  must  be  an  inte- 
gration of  all  solutions.  The  integrating  pro- 
cess does  not  wholly  eliminate  any  one  group. 
It  may  eliminate  all  of  that  group's  proposed 
solution,  but  it  will  not  reject  that  group's 
contribution  to  the  discussion;  the  group  will 
feel  that  it  has  in  some  manner  affected  the  final 
consummation  of  the  project. 

In  the  integrating  process  it  is  highly  im- 
portant not  to  break  down  the  various  ^roup 
allegiances.    There  may  be  the  temptation  to 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  135 


capitalize  certain  elements  of  other  groups  who 
were  not  in  entire  accord  with  the  group's  posi- 
tion. It  may  appear  an  easy  matter  to  deflect 
these  elements  from  their  vital-interest  group 
allegiances.  The  leader  who  takes  a  long  look 
ahead  will  refrain  from  following  this  step. 
The  best  interests  of  the  community  will  be 
conserved  if  these  allegiances  are  maintained. 
The  next  project  which  appears  will  cause  dif- 
fering positions  within  the  groups. 

The  acceptance  of  the  integrated  solution 
will  not  satisfy  all  parties  entirely.  In  fact,  it 
will  not  prove  to  be  a  good  solution  unless  the 
community  is  trained  to  approve  of  tentative 
progress. 

Compromise  on  the  basis  of  tentative  prog- 
ress. All  progress  is  tentative.  The  absolutist 
overlooks  this  fact.  He  wants  absolute  and  not 
tentative  progress.  His  complete  program 
must  be  adopted.  Communities  can  be  trained 
to  accept  the  theory  of  tentative  progress,  if 
their  leadership  emphasizes  agreements  and 
minimizes  differences  in  the  final  solution.  No 
self-respecting  person  desires  to  be  known  as 
a  compromiser.  The  implication  of  that  term 
is  that  compromises  level  downward.  As  a 
matter  of  plain  fact,  all  of  life  is  a  compromise. 
We  must  learn  how  to  make  compromises  level 
upward. 


136 


THE  COMMUNITY 


The  perfect  solution  of  a  project  is  seldom 
achieved.  It  might  be  harmful  if  this  could 
happen;  it  might  leave  too  little  room  for  the 
adaptation  of  the  project  to  the  changing  condi- 
tions within  the  community.  Those  who  lose 
something  in  the  integration  of  solutions  also 
gain.  They  permit  the  community  to  sense  the 
feeling  of  success.  Their  personal  interests  and 
ideas  may  have  suffered  slight  declines.  There 
is  no  necessity  for  the  loss  of  ideals.  They  are 
now  organically  related  to  the  project.  The 
creative  portions  of  their  idealism  may  now 
function  in  the  unfolding  of  the  project.  Their 
compromise  has  been  a  stepping-stone  upon 
which  they  have  risen  to  greater  achievement. 
They  have  accepted  tentative  progress  as  one 
means  of  reaching  toward  a  more  perfect 
progress. 

This  complete  process  of  community  action 
may  be  summarized  in  three  stages: 

First,  Consciousness  of  need. 

Second,  Emotional  desire  to  meet  need. 

Third,  Intellectual  solution,  based  upon  so- 
cial groupings. 

The  technique  for  the  first  two  stages  is  more 
or  less  simple.  The  last  step  is  the  most  difficult 
and  the  one  which  lacks  technique.  We  have 
become  so  accustomed  to  the  acceptance  of 


COMMUNITY  ACTION  137 


decisions  by  majority  votes  and  by  other  modes, 
derived  principally  from  traditional  politics, 
that  we  fail  to  understand  the  complexities  of 
organic  social  process.  As  the  social  structure 
increases  in  complexity,  it  will  become  more  and 
more  imperative  to  recognize  the  role  of  the 
vital-interest  groups.  The  science  of  future 
community  action  depends  in  a  large  measure 
upon  the  development  of  means  of  coordination 
between  these  groups,  so  that  the  community 
interest  will  not  suffer.  This  means  community 
organization  on  a  non-political  basis. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Study  a  number  of  community  projects; 
divide  the  various  stages  of  the  project  into 
definite  steps. 

2.  Write  the  history  of  some  community 
project,  covering  at  least  five  years. 

3.  Construct  the  mode  of  procedure  for  a 
project  in  some  community  of  your  ac- 
quaintance, and  describe  the  program 
which  you  would  follow  if  this  project  were 
in  your  hands. 

4.  If  you  were  employed  by  a  service  agency 
to  go  to  a  community  with  the  objective  of 
having  the  community  adopt  your  program, 
what  initial  steps  would  you  take? 


138  THE  COMMUNITY 

5.  Make  a  list  of  a  number  of  projects  which 
have  failed;  analyze  the  causes  of  failure. 

6.  Make  a  list  of  a  number  of  projects  which 
have  succeeded;  analyze  the  causes  of  suc- 
cess. 

7.  Formulate  the  publicity  program  for  a 
playground  project,,  in  a  community  of 
10,000  population. 

8.  Formulate  the  publicity  program  for  a 
charity  organization,  in  a  community  of 
50,000  population. 

9.  Why  does  new  leadership  often  appear 
during  the  emotional  stage? 

10.  Why  does  new  leadership  also  frequently 
appear  at  the  stage  of  integration  of  solu- 
tions? 

11.  Make  an  analysis  of  the  compromise  which 
President  Lincoln  made  in  connection  with 
the  Civil  War. 

12.  Make  a  list  of  ten  important  decisions  of 
your  life;  analyze  the  compromises  in- 
volved. 

13.  Why  are  revolutions  and  other  periods  of 
emotional  excess  usually  followed  by 
periods  of  reaction? 


CHAPTER  X 


THEORIES  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  COM- 
MUNITY ORGANIZATION 

The  underlying  forces  which  have  produced 
the  Community  Movement  hiave  also  made  it 
necessary  to  devise  some  sort  of  social  ma- 
chinery which  will  give  functional  reality  to  the 
movement.  The  Community  Movement  as  a 
social  force  and  community  organization  as  a 
phase  of  social  process  should  not  be  confused. 
The  essential  problem  of  community  organiza- 
tion is  to  furnish  a  working  relationship  be- 
tween the  Democratic  Process  and  Specialism. 
The  Democratic  Process  expresses  itself,  or  is 
personified  in  the  total  community  membership. 
The  Specialist  expresses  himself,  or  is  personi- 
fied in  the  division  of  labor  which  produces 
highly  skilled  persons  and  agencies,  organiza- 
tions, or  institutions,  equipped  to  do  one  thing 
effectively. 

The  specialist,  as  an  individual  or  as  a  repre- 
sentative of  an  institution,  can  achieve  more 
rapidly  in  an  autocratic  environment  in  which 
specialism  is  recognized  scientifically.  When 


140  THE  COMMUNITY 


scientific  education  becomes  more  or  less  uni- 
versal, the  specialist's  progress  will  be  more 
direct  and  more  rapid.  But,  in  societies  where 
scientific  education  is  not  universal,  the 
specialist  comes  into  what  appears  to  be  a  di- 
rect conflict  with  Democracy.  The  democratic 
method  is  slow,  cumbersome,  halting  and  beset 
with  many  back-eddies  which  seem  to  be  anti- 
progressive.  The  specialist  becomes  impatient 
with  all  of  this  and  desires  to  go  straight 
toward  his  goal.  He  knows.  The  constituents 
of  Democracy  do  not  know,  and  must  be  shown 
the  way.  The  way  may  be  long  and  devious  but 
it  cannot  be  avoided;  there  is  no  short-cut 
toward  Democracy.  If  there  were,  it  would  be 
utoo  light  a  thing"  as  an  ideal,  and  the  children 
of  earth  would  not  suffer  for  its  achievement. 

Community  organization  exists  wherever 
Democracy  and  Specialism  are  approximating 
working  relationships.  It  may  not  be  possible 
to  diagram  this  relationship, — for  it  may  be 
nothing  more  than  an  element  of  good-will, — 
but  it  is  nevertheless  a  phase  of  community  or- 
ganization which  presages  some  later  form  of 
mechanics  of  organization.  There  is  a  tendency 
among  many  community  organization  enthu- 
siasts to  perfect  a  mechanical  structure  in  ad- 
vance of  a  social  and  spiritual  foundation. 
Charts  and  diagrams  of  schemes  for  community 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  141 


organization  have  their  value,  if  it  is  clearly 
understood  that  they  are  mere  pictures  and  that 
they,  like  all  pictures,  depict  but  poorly  the 
image  of  a  reality.  Such  pictorial  schemes  of 
community  organization  contain  dangers  for 
students,  inasmuch  as  they  portray  something 
which  is  almost  wholly  imaginary  and  which 
does  not  exist  in  fact.  Social  engineering,  as  it 
evolves  toward  the  stage  of  art,  will  be  more 
closely  akin  to  the  art  of  the  poet  than  to  that 
of  the  draughtsman  or  the  painter.  It  will  be 
an  expression  of  spirit  and  of  function,  rather 
than  of  structure. 

With  this  warning  in  mind,  we  may  proceed 
to  the  discussion  of  the  theory  and  the  me- 
chanics of  community  organization.  (  Nothing 
is  more  characteristic  of  the  American  people 
than  is  their  tendency  to  organize.  While  social 
organization  is  a  natural  process  for  human 
beings  in  contiguity,  it  is  with  the  American 
people  more  than  a  natural  process;  it  is  a  de- 
veloped technique.  There  are  some  who  call 
it  the  American  mark  of  genius,  and  it  has  ten- 
dencies to  go  to  extremes,  like  all  manifestations 
of  genius.  Unless  we  can  develop  a  rational, 
philosophic  basis  for  our  manifold  organiza- 
tions, we  shall  find  ourselves  consumed  by  their 
machinery.  "Not  much  can  be  done,"  says  a 
noted  church  leader,  "until  we  have  a  president, 


142 


THE  COMMUNITY 


a  vice-president,  a  secretary  and  an  executive 
committee.  Then  the  thing  we  desire  to  do 
must  be  moved  and  seconded,  and  referred  and 
amended,  and  substituted  and  officially  author- 
ized by  a  formal  vote.  Still  further,  a  com- 
mittee must  be  appointed  to  carry  out  the  man- 
date of  the  chief  body.  Machinery,  machinery, 
machinery!  Wheels  and  cogs,  and  pulleys,  and 
levers,  and  lathes,  and  magnetos,  and  dynamos, 
and  cylinders,  and  cylinder-rods,  and  cyclom- 
eters galore !  How  constitutions  and  by-laws 
have  taken  possession  of  us!  How  personality 
has  been  absorbed  by  the  machine!"  But  ma- 
chinery is  necessary.  There  will  be  more  rather 
than  less  of  it  in  the  future.  Our  primary  task 
is  to  understand  the  machinery  and  then  to 
interpret  it  in  terms  of  social  and  spiritual 
values.  This  is  no  easy  task  after  social  ma- 
chinery has  been  woven  into  traditionalism. 

Types  of  Community  Organization 

Types  of  community  organization,  as  con- 
ceived theoretically,  will  be  first  studied.  This 
discussion  will  be  followed  by  a  discussion  of  a 
number  of  organizations  now  in  operation. 

I.  The  Direct  theory  of  community  organi- 
zation,— in  which  vital-interest  groups, 
agencies,   organizations  and  institutions 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  143 


are  not  regarded  as  important  or  vital. 
The  individual  is  related  to  the  commu- 
nity organization  as  an  individual  and  by 
right  of  his  citizenship ;  his  group  adher- 
ence is  minimized,  while  his  community 
adherence  is  emphasized. 

It  is  customary  in  this  form  of  organization 
to  insist  upon  the  theory  of  pure  Democracy, 
and  to  attempt  to  approximate  it  in  the  struc- 
ture of  the  community  organization.  Ordi- 
narily, men  and  women  above  eighteen  or 
twenty-one  years  of  age  are  considered  as  citi- 
zens in  the  community,  and  hence  related  to  the 
community  organization. 

There  are  three  general  forms  of  this  type 
of  community  organization : 

1.  Including  the  total  citizenship. 

2.  Including  those  who  "join"  a  community 
club  [voluntary]. 

3.  Including  those  who  "join"  a  neighbor- 
hood club,  which  is  related  to  the  com- 
munity organization  organically. 

All  of  these  various  forms  of  the  direct 
method  of  community  organization  function 
through  committees,  appointed  or  elected  to 
perform  special  tasks.  The  responsible  body 
is  the  totality  of  the  citizenship. 

Arguments  favoring  the  direct  method  of 
community  organization : 


144  THE  COMMUNITY 


(a)  It  prevents  the  domination  of  certain 
"cliques"  or  agencies,  organizations,  or 
institutions  within  the  community. 

(b)  It  assumes  social  equality,  and  thus  con- 
forms with  our  current  political  theory 
of  equality. 

(c)  It  simplifies  the  definition  of  a  com- 
munity by  utilizing  the  political  unit. 

(d)  It  restores  elements  of  "lost  citizen- 
ship," which  have  been  absorbed  by  the 
vital-interest  groups. 

(e)  It  assumes  a  greater  degree  of  per- 
manence than  is  generally  accredited  to 
institutional  organization. 

Arguments  against  the  direct  method  of 
community  organization: 

(a)  It  presupposes  a  degree  of  Democracy 
which  does  not  exist. 

(b)  It  overlooks  the  actuality  of  the  division 
of  labor  among  social  agencies,  organi- 
zations and  institutions. 

(c)  It  assumes  that  the  political  forces  will 
always  be  dominant,  while  it  seems  ap- 
parent that  economic  and  social  forces 
are  now  in  the  ascendancy. 

(d)  It  places  altogether  too  little  emphasis 
upon  the  intensity  of  membership  in  a 
vital-interest  group. 

(e)  It  makes  no  definite  provisions  for  se- 
curing the  highest  services  of  the 
specialists. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  145 

II.  The  Indirect  theory  of  community  or- 
ganization,— in  which  the  individual  is 
related  to  the  community  organization 
through  his  membership  or  adherence  in 
a  vital-interest  group.  The  total  citizen- 
ship is  not  included  in  the  community  or- 
ganization, but  receives  its  expression 
through  the  coordination  of  groups. 

There  are  three  general  forms  of  this  type  of 
organization : 

1.  Federation  of  groups,  agencies,  organiza- 
tions, or  institutions  whose  functions  are 
similar,  such  as : 

(a)  Federations  of  churches. 

(b)  Federations  of  educational  agencies. 

(c)  Federations  of  labor  unions. 

(d)  Federations  of  women's  clubs. 

2.  Federation  of  service  or  social  work 
agencies  such  as : 

(a)  Associated  charities. 

(b)  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

(c)  Salvation  Army. 

(d)  Boy  Scouts. 

(e)  Recreation  associations.  - 

Note.  In  some  cases  governmental  agencies 
are  related  to  this  type  of  organization  in  an 
unofficial  sense. 

3.  Federations  of  all  organizations,  agencies 
and  institutions  having  service  programs; 
that  is,  a  combination  of  1  and  2  above. 


146  THE  COMMUNITY 


This  type  of  community  organization  is 
spreading  very  rapidly  at  the  present  time. 
The  word  "federation,"  implying  more  or  less 
organic  unity,  is  being  supplanted  by  the  terms 
"exchange"  or  "council."  The  tendency  seems 
to  be  toward  councils  with  advisory  capacities 
only;  it  is  assumed  that  proper  coordination  will 
result  when  the  various  agencies,  organizations 
and  institutions  reach  a  plane  of  mutual  under- 
standing. The  motive  for  this  type  of  organi- 
zation is  too  frequently  that  of  preventing 
duplication,  instead  of  insuring  the  greater 
effectiveness  of  the  various  cooperating  groups. 
This  type  of  organization  received  a  great 
impetus  during  the  late  War,  when  private  and 
group  interests  were  subordinated  to  a  marked 
degree.  It  was  discovered  that  the  task  of  rais- 
ing funds  for  the  various  groups  could  be  ac- 
complished with  less  effort  if  the  budgets  were 
amalgamated.  The  "community  budget"  be- 
came a  popular  undertaking,  and  led  naturally 
toward  cooperation  in  program  making  as  well 
as  in  financing.  Since  the  War  there  has  been 
a  decided  reaction  against  this  tendency  on  the 
part  of  a  number  of  agencies.  This  reaction, 
however,  has  not  been  sufficient  to  check  the 
tendency. 

Arguments  favoring  the  indirect  method  of 
community  organization : 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  147 

(a)  It  reduces  institutional  rivalry. 

(b)  It  tends  to  focus  the  attention  of  the 
community  upon  its  service  agencies  and 
institutions,  in  the  light  of  community 
services. 

(c)  It  leads  to  certain  standards  of  work, 
which  raise  the  level  of  effectiveness  of 
all  agencies  and  institutions. 

(d)  It  permits  individuals  to  retain  their 
vital  interest  in  those  groups  which  are 
most  responsive  to  their  individual 
temperaments. 

(e)  It  prevents  duplication  and  over- 
lapping. 

(f)  It  provides  for  the  highest  use  of  the 
specialists. 

Arguments  against  the  indirect  method  of 
community  organization : 

(a)  It  is  not  in  the  true  sense  "community 
organization,"  but  merely  the  organiza- 
tion of  portions  of  the  functioning  part 
of  the  community. 

(b)  It  shifts  individual  responsibility  to  the 
community,  before  the  community  is 
trained  to  accept  this  responsibility. 

(c)  It  tends  to  diminish  the  highly  personal 
interest,  which  individuals,  especially 
"givers,"  have  developed  in  certain 
agencies  or  institutions. 


148 


THE  COMMUNITY 


(d)  The  combination  of  existing  agencies 
may  defeat  the  law  of  the  division  of 
labor,  by  preventing  new  agencies  and 
organizations  from  entering  the  com- 
munity. 

(e)  It  tends  to  neglect  the  development  of 
volunteer  leadership. 

III.  The  Compound  theory  of  community 
organization, — in  which  both  the  direct 
and  the  indirect  methods  are  utilized. 
According  to  this  theory  the  ultimate 
aim  of  community  organization  is  to 
secure  Democratic  control,  without  min- 
imizing the  effectiveness  of  specialists 
and  specialized  institutions. 

There  are  two  general  forms  of  this  type  of 
community  organization : 

1.  In  which  the  representatives  of  agencies 
and  institutions  are  balanced  by  a  like 
number  of  representatives,  chosen  from 
the  citizenship  at  large. 

2.  In  which  three  distinct  groups  are  recog- 
nized: 

Those  who  receive  services  (benefici- 
aries) . 

Those  who  render  services  (agencies, 
institutions,  specialists). 
Those  who  pay  for  services  (the  peo- 
ple or  citizenship) . 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  149 


Each  of  these  groups  is  represented  in  the 
general  community  organization,  and  the 
executive  body  which  functions  represents 
all  of  them. 

On  account  of  the  complexity  of  the  com- 
pound theory  of  community  organization  it  is 
usually  contended  that  it  is  impracticable.  The 
average  citizen  has  so  little  agility  of  mind  that 
he  cannot  grasp  this  schematic  method  of  relat- 
ing himself  to  the  community  process.  He 
wants  something  more  simple.  If  the  com- 
pound theory  is  to  succeed,  it  will  need  to 
develop  from  some  less  complex  form  of  or- 
ganization. In  the  light  of  the  theory  of 
Democracy  and  of  our  present  status  of  group 
allegiances,  the  compound  theory  of  community 
organization  is  sound  in  principle,  and  hence 
must  be  ultimately  workable.  In  the  meantime, 
all  types  of  community  organization  will  be 
utilized.  The  more  unhampered  the  experi- 
ment that  can  be  encouraged  during  the  next 
decade  or  two,  the  better  for  the  community 
movement.  Conversely,  the  less  dogmatism 
displayed  by  those  interested  in  any  particular 
type  of  organization,  the  more  wholesome  will 
be  the  atmosphere  of  this  new,  applied  science, 
which  is  destined  to  be  so  vital  to  human  wel- 
fare. 


150  THE  COMMUNITY 


Examples  of  Community  Organization 

The  student  will  secure  his  most  valuable  in- 
sight into  the  technique  of  community  organiza- 
tion through  the  study  of  what  actually  exists. 
Social  theory  is  interesting  and  should  be  a  part 
of  the  equipment  of  the  student  of  community 
organization.  But  the  social  engineer  deals 
with  stubborn  material.  He  needs  a  large 
amount  of  pragmatism  in  his  approach  to  the 
problems  of  human  relationships.  There  has 
already  been  created  a  certain  distrust  for  social 
engineering;  "paper"  organizations  abound. 
The  wise  leader  will  retain  his  theory  and  his 
idealism,  while  he  makes  practical  use  of  the 
tools  at  hand.  A  cross-section  of  the  "com- 
munity mind"  reveals  a  surprisingly  small 
amount  of  agility  and  suppleness  in  the  realm 
of  ideas.  On  the  other  hand,  the  "community 
mind"  reveals  a  surprisingly  large  amount  of 
practical  information  and  ability.  And,  after 
all,  the  community  organization  which  suits 
best  a  given  community,  must  be  indigenous  to 
that  community;  it  cannot  be  "grafted"  on,  but 
must  grow  out  of  the  community  life  and 
experience. 

The  use  of  the  local  resources  in  building  a 
community  organization  may  not  result  in  a 
structure  which  will  be  satisfactory  to  the  or- 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  151 


ganizer,  but  it  will  have  more  likelihood  of  suc- 
cess than  one  that  he  might  have  imposed  upon 
the  community.  As  examples  of  community 
organization  are  studied,  it  will  be  observed 
that  variations  in  structure  may  be  accounted 
for  by  such  factors  as  the  size  of  the  com- 
munity, the  character  of  the  population  (urban, 
suburban,  or  rural),  the  motives  of  the  agency 
initiating  or  stimulating  the  organization,  the 
immediate  objectives  of  the  organization,  and 
the  former  degree  of  organization  existing  in 
the  community. 


Neighborhood,  or  Community,  Improvement 
Clubs  or  Associations 

This  form  of  organization  was  popular,  and 
more  or  less  common,  to  all  sections  of  the 
country  one  and  two  decades  ago.  The  impetus 
apparently  came  from  the  New  England  states, 
and  was  originally  based  upon  the  desire  to  im- 
prove the  physical  surroundings  and  to  enhance 
the  landscape  of  the  smaller  towns  and  villages. 
In  fact,  the  term  "Village  Improvement  So- 
ciety" was  commonly  used  in  New  England. 
The  objectives  of  this  type  of  organization 
naturally  broadened  and  included  various  ele- 
ments of  social  and  economic  improvement. 
The  membership  in  most  cases  was  made  up 


152  THE  COMMUNITY 

entirely  of  men  and  usually  of  a  small  section  of 
the  population,  whose  ideals  and  aspirations  for 
the  community  were  higher  than  the  standard 
set  by  the  political  organization  of  the  com- 
munity. 

The  simplicity  of  these  organizations  made  it 
possible  to  extend  them  without  promotion 
agencies.  There  were,  however,  several  at- 
tempts at  state  federations  of  improvement 
associations.  The  process  of  organization 
was: 

1.  Calling  of  a  community  mass  meeting. 

2.  Speakers  asked  to  describe  certain  definite 
needs  of  the  community. 

3.  Discussion. 

4.  Motion  to  organize  improvement  asso- 
ciation. 

5.  Election  of  temporary  officers. 

6.  Appointment  of  committees  to  draft  con- 
stitution, select  permanent  officers,  etc. 

7.  Organization  meeting. 

8.  Work  on  definite  projects  of  community 
improvement. 

This  type  of  organization  should  be  classified 
as  direct  community  organization.  It  does  not, 
of  course,  include  all  citizens  of  the  community, 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  153 


but  it  does  not  represent  specific  groups.  This 
category  includes  also  such  organizations  as 
farmers'  clubs  and  community  clubs. 

The  Grange  presents  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting studies  in  community  organization  extant. 
It  began  as  a  movement  of  economic  coopera- 
tion among  farmers,  but  developed  into  an  or- 
ganization in  which  social  values  superseded 
economic  ones.  The  difficulty  of  classifying  the 
Grange  as  a  community  organization  arises 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  a  secret  society  with 
ritual.  There  is  one  particular  in  which  the 
Grange  acted  wisely  and  far  in  advance  of  its 
time.  Its  membership  includes  both  men  and 
women  on  a  basis  of  equality.  It  is,  perhaps, 
this  fact  which  has  caused  the  gradual  change 
in  emphasis  from  economic  to  social  activities. 

The  Farm  Bureau  presents  a  new  idea  in 
direct  organization.  It  is  almost  universally 
organized  on  the  county  basis,  and  hence  cannot 
be  regarded  as  a  strictly  community  organiza- 
tion. It  seems  probable,  however,  that  com- 
munity units,  such  as  exist  in  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia, will  eventually  grow  out  of  the  county 
organization.  The  unique  feature  of  the  Farm 
Bureau  organization  is  its  project  basis  of 
functioning.  A  brief  analysis  of  the  scheme  of 
organization  will  serve  to  acquaint  the  student 
with  its  chief  features: 


154  THE  COMMUNITY 


American  Farm  Bureau  Federation 
(Affiliation  of  State  Farm  Bureaus) 

State  Farm  Bureau  Federation 
(Affiliation  of  County  Farm  Bureaus) 

The  County  Farm  Bureau 


General  member- 
ship made  up  of 
farmers  who  pay 
annual  dues  of 
from  one  to  ten 
dollars;  member- 
ship scattered 
throughout  the 
county. 


Executive  Com- 
mittee consisting 
of  the  officers  of 
the  County  Farm 
Bureau,  and  ad- 
ditional members 
elected. 


Functional  Com- 
mittees based  on 
definite  projects, 
such  as  dairying, 
alfalfa  raising, 
cooperative  mar- 
keting, etc. 


This  represents  the  usual  form  of  organiza- 
tion. There  are  variations  which  include  local 
community  committees;  these  local  committees 
secure  representation  on  a  county  basis  by 
means  of  a  county  agricultural  council,  made  up 
of  the  chairmen  of  the  various  community  com- 
mittees. Other  variations  provide  for  the  affilia- 
tion of  local  farmers'  clubs  with  the  county 
Farm  Bureau,  the  separate  organization  of 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  155 


Home  Bureaus  for  farm  women,  and  the  co- 
ordination of  non-affiliated  farmers'  organiza- 
tions. The  membership  in  the  county  Farm 
Bureau  is  open  to  both  men  and  women. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  original  im- 
petus for  Farm  Bureau  organization  came 
through  the  county  agricultural  agents,  who 
were  cooperatively  employed  by  the  Federal 
Government,  the  State  Colleges  of  Agriculture, 
and  the  local  county.  These  agents,  or  demon- 
strators, found  it  necessary  to  develop  some 
form  of  organization  to  make  their  educational 
programs  effective.  From  this  beginning  has 
come  the  marvelous  expansion  which  now  in- 
cludes farmers  in  over  forty  states,  and  which 
promises  to  be  the  most  gigantic  organization 
of  farmers  in  the  history  of  American  agricul- 
ture. 

There  is  a  tendency  to  confine  the  activities 
of  the  Farm  Bureau  to  economic  problems. 
The  farm  women,  however,  will  not  be  content 
with  such  a  restricted  program,  and  there  are 
already  evidences  that  the  program  will  become 
more  inclusive.  When  this  emphasis  gains  suffi- 
cient ground,  the  necessity  for  local,  community 
organization  on  the  direct  plan  will  become 
evident. 


156  THE  COMMUNITY 


Institutional  Examples  of  Direct  Community 
Organization 

In  the  fluid  periods  of  social  movements  it 
frequently  happens  that  strange  and  anomalous 
forms  of  organization  occur.  For  a  number  of 
years  service  agencies  or  institutions,  such  as  the 
Red  Cross,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion, the  Recreation  and  Playground  Associa- 
tion of  America,  the  Boy  Scouts,  and  numerous 
others  entered  communities,  organized  their 
own  associations,  and  promoted  their  own 
specialized  programs.  When  the  tide  set  in, 
which  seemed  to  point  to  a  time  when  communi- 
ties would  be  organized  for  their  own  interests, 
and  in  consequence  the  service  agencies  and 
institutions  would  then  be  brought  to  function 
in  the  sphere  of  their  specialties, — some 
agencies  attempted  a  broader  type  of  commu- 
nity organization. 

The  American  Red  Cross  proposed  such  a 
program  immediately  following  the  War.  It 
was  designed  primarily  for  smaller  towns,  vil- 
lages and  open  country  communities.  It  in- 
cluded the  employment  of  a  county  secretary, 
called  the  Home  Service  Secretary  or  the 
County  Red  Cross  Organizer.  The  program 
was  not  restricted  to  the  specialized  activities  of 
the  Red  Cross,  such  as  health  education,  public 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  157 


health  nursing,  disaster  relief,  etc.,  but  con- 
templated recreational  and  other  leisure-time 
activities,  as  well  as  family  case  work,  and  gen- 
eral civic  improvement. 

In  a  strict  sense  this  form  of  organization 
cannot  be  called  direct,  inasmuch  as  the  Red 
Cross  did  not  contemplate  supplanting  other 
agencies  or  institutions,  but  rather  proposed  to 
assist  them  in  reaching  a  higher  degree  of 
effectiveness.  It  is  a  direct  method,  however, 
in  so  far  as  it  functions  through  voluntary  mem- 
berships taken  from  all  the  citizens,  and 
through  committees  appointed  by  and  from  this 
membership.  In  small,  unorganized  communi- 
ties this  type  of  organization  is  highly  desirable, 
provided  that  the  initiating  agency  performs 
this  service  with  the  fixed  and  stated  purpose  of 
eliminating  itself,  as  a  community  organization, 
when  it  has  succeeded  in  establishing  sufficient 
agencies  and  institutions  to  carry  out  a  balanced 
program.  It  now  appears  that  this  is  the  policy 
being  pursued  by  the  American  Red  Cross. 

Community  Service,  Incorporated,  projects  a 
form  of  community  organization  which  is  also 
direct,  but  which  assumes  no  elements  of  a  com- 
munity program  which  are  not  related  to  the 
problems  of  leisure  time.  It  is  direct  in  that  it 
establishes  itself  in  the  community  on  the  basis 
of  a   supporting  membership,   and  functions 


158  THE  COMMUNITY 


through  its  own  committees.  It  is  also  indirect 
in  its  efforts  to  coordinate  all  of  the  recreational 
agencies  within  a  community.  It  is  this  type  of 
organization  which  enters  a  community  for  the 
expressed  purpose  of  functioning  in  the  field  of 
its  specialty,  which  is  so  common  in  American 
communities. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  pro- 
motes a  community  program  which  is  direct,  in 
that  it  secures  memberships  and  functions 
through  committees  and  officers  of  this  member- 
ship. The  community  work  of  the  Association 
grew  out  of  extension  programs  carried  on  by 
city  associations.  It  later  developed  a  theory 
and  a  technique  of  its  own,  and  was  one  of  the 
first  of  the  larger  national  agencies  to  place 
emphasis  upon  the  local  community  as  a  func- 
tioning unit.  The  County  Work  Department 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
(Rural)  had  already  laid  the  foundation  for  a 
non-equipment  program  of  work  for  men  and 
boys,  with  the  county  as  the  organizing  unit, 
and  the  local  community  as  the  functioning  or 
program  unit.  Both  of  these  departments  have 
made  creative  contributions  to  the  community 
movement.  In  cities  where  so-called  community 
work  is  being  carried  on,  in  collaboration  with  a 
city  association,  it  is  more  correct  to  call  the  dis- 
tributed units  of  function — neighborhood  units. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  159 


Twenty  years  ago  the  County  Work  Depart- 
ment of  the  Association  laid  down  a  few  funda- 
mental principles  of  community  work;  many  of 
these  are  still  the  guide-posts  of  community 
leaders.  Not  the  least  among  these  principles 
was  this:  "The  resident  forces  are  the  redemp- 
tive forces  "  The  implication  of  this  principle 
is  that  national  agencies  have  for  their  chief 
task  the  discovery,  the  training  and  the  enlist- 
ment of  resident  leadership. 


These  examples  of  direct  community  organi- 
zation do  not  in  any  sense  include  all  of  the 
various  types  and  forms  of  community  organi- 
zation extant.  Two  primary  institutions,  the 
church  and  the  school,  have  been  experimenting 
with  various  forms  of  community  organization 
for  a  number  of  years.  There  are  numerous 
examples  of  churches  which  have  achieved 
admirable  forms  of  organization.  However, 
any  agency  or  institution  whose  membership  is 
restricted  to  persons  who  subscribe  to  a  certain 
religious  creed,  cannot  hope  to  become  a  com- 
munity organization  agency  or  institution  in  the 
United  States.  At  best,  these  institutions  can 
hope  to  include  in  their  active  programs  only 
sections  of  the  population. 

It  is  otherwise  with  the  public  school.  This 


160  THE  COMMUNITY 


institution  is  supported  by  all  the  citizens  of  the 
community.  It  is  not  an  institution  in  the  sense 
that  it  has  members,  but  it  has  all  of  the  other 
characteristics  of  a  permanent  institution.  It 
is  located  on  public  property  which  may  be  put 
to  such  uses  as  the  community  desires.  It  func- 
tions through  paid  teachers  who  receive  their 
salaries  from  public  funds.  The  Community 
Center  movement  is  probably  the  most  definite 
form  of  direct  community  organization  existing 
in  the  United  States.  Under  the  broadest  defi- 
nition of  the  term  "education," — an  organiza- 
tion of  citizens,  centering  about  the  public 
school,  may  promote  the  most  varied  type  of 
program. 

Utilizing  the  public  school  equipment  and 
machinery  for  executing  community  programs  is 
but  a  phase  of  the  process  of  community  or- 
ganization. After  the  concession  to  use  the 
school  equipment  and  machinery  is  secured, 
there  remains  the  task  of  securing  the  best 
services  of  the  specialists  and  the  specialized 
agencies,  and  the  more  difficult  task  of  con- 
structing a  democratic  piece  of  social  ma- 
chinery, through  which  the  community  may  ex- 
press its  will.  This  process  is  much  the  same 
whether  the  school,  the  church,  the  community- 
house,  or  other  existing  institutions  are  utilized. 
It  is  frequently  claimed  that  the  community  or- 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  161 


ganization,  radiating  about  the  public  school,  is 
more  likely  to  have  all  of  the  elements  of 
Democracy  than  would  be  true  in  the  case  of 
other  institutions.  This  is  yet  to  be  demon- 
strated. During  the  War,  and  after,  many 
school  centers  suffered  a  sharp  decline  in  inter- 
est and  attendance;  this  was,  in  part,  due  to  the 
abridgment  of  freedom  of  speech  in  the  open 
forum  meetings.  In  short,  the  public  school  is 
an  institution  controlled  by  governmental  offi- 
cials; these  officials  owe  their  allegiance  to 
political  parties.  In  crises,  the  public  school  be- 
comes, not  a  free  community  institution,  but  the 
organ  of  one  section  of  the  population.  Instead 
of  waiting  for  Democracy  to  seep  down  from 
the  governmental  agencies  to  the  local  communi- 
ties, it  may  be  wiser  to  build  Democracy  upward 
from  the  smaller  unit;  when  these  smaller  units 
are  truly  Democratic,  the  governmental  units 
will  be  so,  ipso  facto. 

The  settlement  house  represents  a  specialized 
form  of  neighborhood  organization.  In  its 
earlier  days  it  measured  its  usefulness  by  the 
number  of  services  which  it  rendered  to  the 
people  living  within  the  radius  of  its  influence ; 
its  test  of  service  is  now  based  upon  the  number 
of  needs  which  the  neighborhood  itself  may  be 
taught  to  meet  in  an  organized  way.  This 
movement  has  made  an  important  contribution 


162  THE  COMMUNITY 

to  the  technique  and  philosophy  of  the  com- 
munity organization. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Formulate  a  list  of  the  specialists  in  any 
given  community,  and  state  their  numerical 
relationship  to  the  total  population. 

2.  Formulate  a  list  of  the  institutions  in  any 
given  community  (institutions  with  special- 
ized function) . 

3.  Select  ten  of  the  most  prominent  citizens 
(men  and  women)  of  some  community, 
and  tabulate  the  number  of  organizations, 
agencies,  institutions  to  which  they  belong, 
or  to  which  they  give  support. 

4.  Analyze  this  sentence:  "Social  engineering, 
as  it  evolves  toward  the  stage  of  art,  will  be 
more  closely  akin  to  the  art  of  the  poet 
than  to  that  of  the  draughtsman  or 
painter," — and  state  reasons  for  or  against 
it. 

5.  Select  some  form  of  community  organiza- 
tion which  conforms  more  or  less  closely  to 
the  direct  type,  and  describe  fully  its  his- 
tory, its  successes  and  failures,  its  scheme 
of  organization,  and  the  principles  upon 
which  it  functions. 

6.  Complete  the  arguments  for  and  against 
the  direct  method  of  community  organiza- 
tion. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  163 


7.  Select  a  community  with  at  least  five  service 
agencies,  and  the  usual  other  institutions, 
and  formulate  a  plan  of  indirect  organiza- 
tion which  you  think  will  suit  the  condi- 
tions. 

8.  By  consultation  with  leaders  learn  and 
tabulate  all  of  the  arguments  available  for, 
and  against,  the  pooling  of  budgets  (com- 
munity budgeting)  of  social  agencies. 

9.  Complete  the  arguments  for,  and  against, 
the  indirect  method  of  community  organi- 
zation. 

10.  Construct  a  list  of  organizations  and  insti- 
tutions which  function  on  the  basis  of 
direct }  or  semi-direct,  organization;  (a)  in 
a  given  state,  (b)  in  a  given  county,  (c)  in 
a  given  community. 

11.  Select  some  current  form  of  community 
organization  (such  as  the  Grange,  Farm 
Bureau,  etc.),  and  make  an  analysis  of  the 
program  and  the  steps  involved  in  organi- 
zation. 

12.  Prepare  a  bibliography  on  the  Community 
Center  movement  in  the  United  States. 
From  selected  readings,  prepare  a  brief 
history  of  the  movement. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THEORIES  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  COM- 
MUNITY ORGANIZATION  (Continued) 

The  indirect  theory  of  community  organiza- 
tion is  based  upon  so-called  group  psychology. 
It  assumes  that  the  individual  is  vitally  related 
to  one  or  more  of  the  vital-interest  groups, 
through  which  he  secures  his  self-expression. 
It  assumes,  further,  that  in  a  complex  society 
the  actual  functioning  process  goes  on  through 
these  groups  and  not  through  the  citizenship  as 
a  whole.  Politically  considered,  it  stresses  the 
forces  in  government  rather  than  government 
itself.  In  the  extra-governmental  affairs  of 
community  life,  this  psychological  theory  makes 
the  assumption  that  the  organizations,  agencies 
and  institutions  of  a  community  constitute  the 
real  dynamic  forces,  and  that  community  organi- 
zation will  be  accomplished  when  these  groups 
are  inter-related  and  co-related. 

The  federation  idea  in  community  or  organi- 
zation is  not  new.  The  labor  unions  have  fol- 
lowed this  policy  for  a  number  of  years.  A 
central  labor  union  is  a  federation  of  all  of  the 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  165 


labor  unions  in  a  particular  city.  They  are 
banded  together  in  the  city  federation  for  com- 
munity purposes  only.  Each  local  union  has  a 
relationship  to  its  national  union,  and  this  rela- 
tionship is  direct. 

The  Protestant  Churches  have  also  had  con- 
siderable experience  in  federating  on  the  com- 
munity basis.  Unfortunately,  these  federations 
have  been  largely  nominal  and  not  functional. 
There  are,  of  course,  examples  of  organic 
federation  among  churches  in  which  a  number 
of  denominations  have  agreed  to  pool  church 
machinery,  while  at  the  same  time  retaining 
their  denominational  adherences. 

City  federations  of  women's  clubs  are  the 
rule  in  most  cities,  and  are  exceedingly  effective 
in  bringing  the  organized  force  of  womanhood 
to  bear  upon  community  problems. 

The  above  types  of  federation  among 
agencies  or  institutions  with  similar  programs 
do  not  constitute  community  organization ;  they 
do  make  an  approach  to  the  organized  com- 
munity and  constitute  a  basis  for  considering 
the  indirect  method  which  is  now  in  the  ascend- 
ancy. 

Councils  of  Social  Agencies 

Community  budgeting,  or  the  pooling  of  the 
financial  campaigns  of  all  or  of  a  number  of  the 


166  THE  COMMUNITY 


social  agencies  within  a  community  leads  to 
further  organization;  inter-related  financial  re- 
lationships create  a  sense  of  co-related  respon- 
sibilities. The  organization  of  the  service 
agencies  in  such  manner  as  to  produce  a  bal- 
anced program  of  social  progress,  to  secure 
community-wide  support,  and  to  function  in 
serving  the  entire  community,  is  the  first  step 
toward  assuring  the  best  services  of  the  special- 
ists. Such  organization  should  include  special- 
ists in  health,  education,  family  case  work,  child 
welfare,  delinquency,  dependency,  crime  and 
the  various  other  phases  of  social  work. 

Councils  of  this  type  are  developing  rapidly 
in  many  sections  of  the  country,  and  the  time 
will  soon  be  past  when  social  agencies  will  be 
permitted  to  promote  a  purely  unrelated  pro- 
gram. A  few  of  the  principles  thus  far  devel- 
oped are : 

First,  the  council  has  advisory  powers  only; 
it  does  not  interfere  with  the  administra- 
tive function  of  individual  agencies. 

Second,  the  council  sets  certain  standards  of 
professional  service,  which  agencies  must 
comply  with  when  affiliation  is  effected. 

Third,  the  council  serves  not  merely  to  pre- 
vent overlapping  and  duplication  of  work, 
but  is  instrumental  in  extending  the  useful- 
ness of  individual  agencies  by  marking  out 
clearly  the  various  fields. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  167 


Fourth,  the  council  provides  regular  meetings 
of  representatives  of  all  affiliated  agencies; 
at  these  meetings  the  community  is  looked 
upon  as  a  "case  study,"  and  the  part  which 
each  agency  plays  is  clearly  portrayed. 

Fifth,  the  council  serves  to  relate  the  agencies 
to  larger  groups  of  supporters. 

Sixth,  the  council  tends  to  diminish  the  par- 
ticularistic viewpoint  in  social  work,  and 
promotes  a  unified  outlook  upon  social 
progress  in  which  all  elements  receive  just 
attention. 

There  are  numerous  objections  to  the  council 
plan  of  organizing  social  agencies.  Among 
these  objections  there  is  but  one  that  appears  to 
be  fundamental  in  character.  Private  agencies 
are  built  up  through  the  enthusiastic  support  of 
a  small  group  of  citizens.  These  supporters 
become  attached  in  a  personal  way  to  the 
agency.  They  receive  considerable  satisfaction 
from  its  successes,  and  their  personal  loyalties 
often  lead  them  to  make  sacrifices  which  are 
admirable.  It  is  feared  by  many  that  this 
intensive,  personal  loyalty  of  individuals  to 
particular  agencies  and  institutions  will  be  mini- 
mized, or  lost,  through  the  organization  of 
community  councils  of  all  agencies. 

This  is  a  well-grounded  fear.  Unless  con- 
scious plans  are  made  to  maintain  a  vitality  of 
interest  in  particular  agencies  and  institutions, 


168  THE  COMMUNITY 


this  result  may  be  expected.  The  solution  of 
this  problem  lies  in  the  direction  of  a  new 
technique,  for  the  use  of  volunteer  leaders  in 
social  movements.  The  positive  values  of  co- 
ordinating social  agencies  are  so  great  that  this 
one  objection  must  be  overcome  by  a  new 
strategy.  Perhaps  the  clue  to  this  problem  is 
already  manifest  in  the  compound  theory  of 
community  organization. 

Community  Councils 
Community  councils  constitute  a  semi-direct 
method  of  interesting  the  citizenship  of  a 
neighborhood  in  its  problems,  but  the  functional 
portion  of  the  organization  must  be  classified 
as  indirect.  The  city  of  New  York  proceeded 
with  this  form  of  community  organization  imme- 
diately following  the  War.  Three  factors  in 
the  organization  need  emphasis: 

First,  the  citizens  of  a  given  neighborhood 
were  organized  in  the  form  of  a  voluntary 
association,  called  a  community  council 
and  sometimes  named  after  the  district  or 
neighborhood. 

Second,  the  council  discussed  its  neighbor- 
hood problems,  and  appointed  special  com- 
mittees to  seek  solutions. 

Third,  the  council  secured  the  assistance  of 
all  existing  agencies  and  institutions  in 
solving  problems  or  meeting  needs. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  169 


Fourth,  the  city-wide,  or  overhead,  organi- 
zation maintained  a  staff  of  specialists 
(health,  recreation,  etc.),  who  supple- 
mented the  existing  agencies  in  meeting 
needs. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  plan  involves  features 
of  both  the  direct  and  the  indirect  methods  of 
organization,  although  it  makes  no  provisions 
for  the  coordination  of  the  specialists  and  the 
specialized  institutions  and  agencies. 

The  Social  Unit  Theory  of  Community 
Organization 

The  compound  (complex  or  combined)  type 
of  community  organization  was  demonstrated 
in  an  experiment  conducted  in  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  An  industrial  section  of  the  city 
wTas  selected  for  the  experiment.  This  neigh- 
borhood was  designated  the  "social  unit,"  as  it 
was  the  small,  cohesive  cluster  of  the  population 
in  which  there  was  a  more  or  less  face-to-face 
association.  The  area  within  the  unit  included 
a  population  of  approximately  15,000  people. 
The  organization  proceeded  upon  the  following 
basis : 

A.  Block  Councils  consisting  of  the  residents 
within  a  block;  all  residents  of  both  sexes 
over  eighteen  years  of  age  were  given  the 
voting  privilege. 


170  THE  COMMUNITY 


B.  The  Citizens'  Council  composed  of 
thirty-one  members;  one  member  chosen 
from  each  of  the  blocks  within  the  unit. 
(One  hundred  families  or  five  hundred 
people  on  the  average  in  each  block.) 

C.  The  Occupational  Council  composed  of 
the  representatives  of  the  skilled  (special- 
ist) groups  serving  in  the  district,  such  as 
physicians,  nurses,  recreation  workers, 
teachers,  social  workers,  ministers,  and 
trade  unionists. 

D.  The  General  Council  composed  of  the 
members  of  the  Citizens'  Council  and  the 
Occupational  Council. 

E.  The  Council  of  Executives  consisting  of 
three  executives  (officers),  representing 
respectively  the  Citizens'  Council,  the 
Occupational  Council,  and  the  General 
Council. 

This  plan  of  organization  appears  complex 
and  involved.  It  becomes  much  more  simple 
when  regarded  in  the  functional  instead  of  the 
structural  sense.  In  many  communities,  phases 
of  this  organization  already  exist  as  unrelated 
parts.  Stated  in  the  light  of  the  theory  of 
Democracy  and  Specialism,  as  discussed  in  this 
work,  the  Social  Unit  theory  of  community 
organization  presents  itself  as  follows: 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  171 


The  Democratic  Process  Specialists 

Expressed  in  the  or-  To  secure  group  stimu- 
ganization  of  Block  Coun-  lus  through  organizations 
cils.  of  the  various  specialists, 

Democratic  Process     such  as  medical  associa- 
translated  in  terms  of  will     tions,  teachers'  associa- 
or  action  in  the  Citizens'     tions,  etc. 
Council.  Represented  in  the  com- 

Note.   Any  other  form     munity  program  through 
of    democratic    neighbor-     their  representatives  on 
hood   organization   could    the  Occupational  Council, 
be  utilized  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

The  Community  Pro- 
gram in  Action 

The  meeting  of  the 
Democratic  Process  and 
the  ideas  of  the  Specialists 
in  the  General  Council. 

The  unified  community 
program  placed  into  ac- 
tion through  the  Council 
of  Executives,  whose  au- 
thority rests  within  the 
respective  groups  which 
they  represent. 

Variations  of  the  Social  Unit  plan  of  com- 
munity organization  have  been  suggested,  and 
are  in  some  measure  in  operation.  The  theory 
is  not  invalidated  because  of  certain  features 


172  THE  COMMUNITY 


which  appear  to  be  rigid  in  its  structure.  There 
are  forms  of  community  organization  in  which 
each  specialist  group,  or  committee,  is  supple- 
mented by  a  like  number  of  citizens  chosen  at 
large.  This  is  but  another  means  of  attempting 
to  relate  the  Democratic  Process  to  increasing 
specialization.  Wherever  this  is  achieved,  or 
approached,  it  may  be  said  that  real  community 
organization  in  the  modern  sense  is  in  opera- 
tion. Many  experiments  are  needed  to  deter- 
mine the  type  of  machinery  best  suited  to  a 
particular  community.  If  the  underlying 
philosophy  is  understood,  and  if  the  true  ob- 
jectives of  community  organization  are  clearly 
stated,  the  machinery  will  come  into  existence 
as  a  natural  process. 

Principles  of  Community  Organization 

With  the  above  theories  and  examples  of 
community  organization  in  mind,  the  student 
may  proceed  to  the  task  of  stating  definite  prin- 
ciples to  guide  his  thinking  and  his  planning. 
The  social  sciences  are  still  too  fluid  to  permit 
of  rigid  definitions  and  dogmatic  statements  of 
law.  Definitions  are  no  sooner  stated  than  a 
new  process  is  set  up  which  destroys  their  scien- 
tific value.  But  definitions  and  principles  must 
be  stated  along  the  way,  else  thought  can  never 
be  clarified.     Such  definitions  and  principles 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  173 


should  be  regarded,  not  as  rigid  sign-posts 
along  an  unyielding  mountain  path,  but  rather 
as  lightships  directing  ships  across  an  ocean 
lane,  whose  direction  is  known  but  whose  exact 
paths  may  vary. 

Principle  Number  One 

Community  Organization  is  that  phase 
of  social  organization  which  constitutes  a 
conscious  effort  on  the  part  of  a  community 
to  control  its  affairs  democratically,  and  to 
secure  the  highest  services  from  its  special- 
ists, organizations,  agencies  and  institu- 
tions by  means  of  recognized  inter-rela- 
tions. 

This  principle  is  stated  in  the  form  of  a  defi- 
nition; the  definition  appears  to  be  the  logical 
result  and  induction  from  what  has  gone  before, 
in  this  attempt  to  study  the  community.  It  is 
a  definition  which  involves  the  two  principal 
problems  of  community  organization,  namely, 
the  Democratic  Process  and  Specialism.  It 
will  not  satisfy  those  persons  who  are  attempt- 
ing to  define  community  organization  in  terms 
of  some  particular  scheme  or  plan.  Any  con- 
scious effort  on  the  part  of  a  community  to  solve 
one  or  both  of  its  primary  problems  is  here 
considered  as  organically  related  to  community 
organization.    The  methods  by  which  various 


174  THE  COMMUNITY 


communities  approach  this  task  are  the  me- 
chanical aspects  of  community  organization. 

Principle  Number  Two 

Vital-interest  Groups  provide  the  means 
of  self-expression  which  have  regard  for 
like-mindedness  and  special  capabilities  of 
individuals.  Such  groups  have  come  to  be 
the  vital,  functioning  parts  of  modern  com- 
munities. The  individual's  relationship  to 
such  a  group,  or  groups,  need  not  be  mini- 
mized in  order  to  relate  him  organically 
and  democratically  to  the  larger  com- 
munity. He  must  be  brought  into  the  com- 
munity process  through  the  expression  of 
his  most  vital  interests. 

This  principle  has  already  been  discussed  at 
length.  It  is  the  point  of  departure  for  many 
groups  of  proponents  of  community  organiza- 
tion. The  adherents  of  "pure"  Democracy 
will  have  none  of  the  "group"  theory;  to  them 
this  appears  to  be  an  abandonment  of  funda- 
mental democratic  theory  in  favor  of  "soviet- 
ism."  The  social  realists,  however,  do  not 
blink  at  words;  they  face  the  plain  fact  that 
modern  communities  function  after  the  fashion 
of  vital-interest  groups.  Rotary  Clubs  are  con- 
sciously organized  to  secure  representation  of 
the  various  occupational  and  professional 
groups  of  the  community.    No  one  thinks  of 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  175 


calling  them  "soviets,"  and  yet  they  resemble 
soviet  or  vocational  representation  more  closely 
than  any  other  current  form  of  organization. 
Chambers  of  Commerce  consciously  organize  to 
secure  representation  of  the  commercial,  finan- 
cial and  manufacturing  groups  of  a  community. 
In  complete  community  organization,  this  pro- 
cess must  be  extended;  it  must  be  extended  to 
that  point  where  all  of  the  vital-interest  groups 
are  inter-related,  and  through  this  inter-rela- 
tion there  must  come  a  definite  relation  between 
the  groups  and  the  total  community  population. 
Nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  closing  one's  eyes  to 
the  facts  of  evolution  in  social  organization  and 
process.  Much  is  to  be  lost  if  we  attempt  to 
arrive  at  principles  by  hurling  verbal  "brick- 
bats" at  those  who  differ.  If  the  group  organi- 
zation of  modern  communities  is  a  social  fact, 
it  must  be  faced  frankly.  To  many  it  is  a  hope- 
ful rather  than  a  distressing  fact. 

Principle  Number  Three 

Conflict  is  inevitable  in  social  process. 
Community  organization  does  not  propose 
to  eliminate  conflict  but  rather  to  rational- 
ize it;  the  organized  community  creates 
means  for  bringing  conflict  into  the  "public 
square"  where  the  solvent  of  discussion 
may  be  applied.  Rightly  understood,  con- 
flict becomes  a  positive  force  in  arriving  at 


176 


THE  COMMUNITY 


right  decisions.  This  implies  that  the  or- 
ganized community  must  have  free  and  un- 
controlled avenues  of  expression  of  the 
common  thought. 

In  unorganized  communities  conflicts  smoul- 
der in  the  darkness.  Movements  start,  halt, 
are  "put  over"  by  a  small,  influential — but  sus- 
picioned — group,  or  die  mysterious  deaths. 
Opposition  is  felt  but  not  seen.  The  public 
forum  is  non-existent  or  is  "closed,"  instead  of 
"open."  When  clear-eyed  opposition  presents 
itself,  it  is  inexorably  and  dexterously  sub- 
merged. The  subterranean  forces  appear  to  be 
more  powerful  than  the  seen  forces.  All  of  this 
is  contrary  to  good  human  relationships,  and 
can  only  be  avoided  if  the  principle  of  the  utility 
of  conflict,  with  its  accompanying  principle  of 
freedom  of  discussion,  are  openly  recognized  in 
community  organization. 

Principle  Number  Four 

The  Stimulating  Force  which  causes  a 
community  to  start  toward  organization 
may  come  from  within  or  without  the  com- 
munity. The  particular  "color"  which  the 
force  takes  on  after  it  has  started  on  its 
way,  and  the  direction  in  which  the  force 
is  to  act,  must  come  from  within  the  com- 
munity. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  177 


Studies  of  numerous  community  projects  re- 
veal the  fact  that  success  is  not  dependent  upon 
the  initiating  force  or  agency.  Outside  agencies 
may  be  much  more  useful  in  supplying  this 
stimulus  than  they  will  be  afterwards  in  giving 
it  direction.  This  is  but  a  restatement  of  the 
main  thesis  of  this  book,  namely,  that  Special- 
ism has  its  place  in  social  process,  but  that  its 
guide  must  be  Democracy.  The  outside  agency 
creates  a  stimulus  toward  community  organiza- 
tion and  supplies  certain  elements  of  the  tech- 
nique for  the  early  steps.  It  must  then  sub- 
ordinate itself,  until  the  Democratic  Process 
steps  in  to  make  indigenous  evaluations  and 
adaptations.  Too  frequently  the  initiating 
agency  fails  to  understand  its  proper  function 
in  this  regard,  and  attempts  to  impose  its  for- 
mula step  by  step.  This  leads  to  serious  re- 
action which  imperils  the  community  movement. 

Principle  Number  Five 

Projects  inaugurated  after  community 
organization  has  begun  must  be  carefully 
selected.  Communities,  like  individuals, 
have  whims  and  fancies;  they  also  have 
periods  of  receptive  enthusiasms  with  en- 
suing periods  of  depression.  The  first 
projects  should  be  carefully  initiated  in  the 
light  of  the  study  of  community  needs.  It 
is  safe  to  say,  in  a  general  manner,  that 


178 


THE  COMMUNITY 


the  best  projects  to  use  in  the  initial  stages 
of  community  organization  are  those  which 
represent  the  most  vital  need  to  the  largest 
number  of  people. 

This  principle  has  been  stated  as  the  "law  of 
preferential  motives."  "The  community  activi- 
ties undertaken  first  should  be  those  which  will 
make  the  strongest  appeal  to  the  largest  num- 
ber, and  which  will  involve  the  least  antagonism 
and  friction."1  In  discussing  the  law  of  pref- 
erential motives,  one  author  states:  "The  first 
is  the  gregarious  tendency;  the  second,  the  play 
instinct;  the  third,  the  work  impulse;  the  fourth, 
the  economic  need;  and  the  fifth,  the  cultural 
interest."2  The  latter  category  of  preferential 
motives  is  likely  to  lead  the  student  astray. 
Communities  of  varying  longevity,  varying  com- 
position, and  of  varying  cultural  backgrounds, 
will  not  follow  this  order  of  motives.  There 
is  value  in  the  theory,  however,  and  the  student 
should  interpret  it  in  terms  of  particular  cases. 
It  is  not  intended  as  a  mechanical  law  but  is 
rather  a  hint  at  underlying  principles.  Inter- 
pretations concerning  motives  are  affected  by 
both  the  conscious  (expressed)  and  by  the  sub- 
conscious (wished)  desires.  An  inductive  study 
of  human  organization  would  reveal  the  fact 

1  D wight  Sanderson,  "Proceedings  Third  National  Country  Life 
Conference." 

2N.  L.  Sims,  "The  Rural  Community." 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  179 

that  the  primary  motives  were  economic  in 
essence;  a  deeper  insight  into  the  subconscious 
longings  of  people  might  reveal  the  contrary 
fact,  namely,  that  fellowship  has  been  the  real 
motive. 

Principle  Number  Six 

Leadership  in  community  organization 
must  keep  its  program  at  least  "one  step" 
in  advance  of  the  Democratic  Process.  No 
form  of  social  organization  needs  leader- 
ship so  vitally  as  Democracy,  but  it  must  be  . 
a  differentiated  leadership.  The  citizen 
who  is  successful  in  commercial  or  indus- 
trial discipline  may  not  be  amenable  to 
Democratic  discipline.  Democracy  needs, 
most  of  all,  creative  leadership;  it  must  be 
constantly  making  proposals  which  lead 
the  community  along  the  road  of  idealism. 
The  delicate  task  is  to  keep  these  ideals 
the  "one  step"  ahead,  while  delegating  the 
practical  responsibilities  to  those  whose 
"feet  are  on  the  earth." 

An  extended  study  of  community  leaders 
points  to  a  more  or  less  definite  type  of  char- 
acter. They  are  nearly  all  dreamers.  They 
are,  first  of  all,  people  who  believe  in  the 
capacities  of  other  people.  They  are  persons 
gifted  with  that  "divine  discontent"  which  is 
unsatisfied  with  present  achievements.  Tragi- 
cally enough,  too  many  leaders  with  this  equip- 


180  THE  COMMUNITY 


ment  of  idealism  lack  the  capacity  of  trans- 
planting their  ideals  to  the  consciousness  of 
others.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  leaders 
shall  have  all  traits  of  leadership;  it  is  only 
hoped  that  they  may  know  how  to  use  the  par- 
ticular ones  which  they  do  have.  This  involves 
a  technique  of  relationship  between  Leadership 
and  Democracy,  which  is  to  be  discussed  later. 
At  this  point,  it  is  desired  to  emphasize  the  idea 
of  having  the  leadership  of  the  community  crea- 
tive in  character;  this  can  only  be  accomplished 
if  the  leaders  make  proposals  which  are  in  ad- 
vance of  their  time. 

Principle  Number  Seven 

Committees  operating  in  and  through 
community  organizations  need  to  be  care- 
fully selected;  moreover,  they  need  a  defi- 
nite technique  of  procedure.  Small  com- 
mittees succeed  better  than  large  ones. 
Committees  with  special  and  definite  tasks 
are  better  than  standing  committees  with 
general  responsibilities.  Untried  leader- 
ship receives  its  initial  stimulus  to  greater 
capacity  through  committee  work. 

This  is  a  very  general  statement  regarding 
committees,  and  little  more  can  be  attempted 
within  the  space  of  this  work.  The  rise  and 
increase  in  vitality  of  committees  constitutes 
one  of  the  important  developments  in  repre- 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  181 


sentative  government,  and  yet  it  appears  to 
have  received  very  little  scientific  study.  Our 
state  and  federal  legislative  bodies  function 
almost  entirely  on  the  basis  of  committees;  the 
general  gatherings  are  largely  perfunctory. 
This  is  another  manifestation  of  the  division  of 
labor  in  social  organization. 

Principle  Number  Eight 

Publicity  given  to  communities  in  the 
process  of  organization  is  apt  to  render 
the  experiment  ineffective.  Well-meaning 
friends  of  a  community  movement  are 
anxious  to  tell  the  "story"  of  the  com- 
munity that  has  started  its  organization. 
This  "story"  involves  personalities.  Other 
persons  in  the  community  know  that  all  of 
the  things  told  in  the  "story"  have  not 
happened,  and  if  they  are  not  entirely  sym- 
pathetic they  can  sow  the  seeds  of  sus- 
picion which  will  soon  undermine  the 
entire  movement. 

Community  leaders,  especially  those  repre- 
senting certain  private  agencies,  are  extremely 
susceptible  to  the  publicity  virus.  They  seldom 
have  the  patience  to  wait  until  the  community 
organization  experiment  has  reached  that  stage 
of  sympathetic  regard  where  the  citizens  will 
support  it  vigorously  before  they  begin  allow- 
ing the  newspapers  to  publish  accounts.  These 


182  THE  COMMUNITY 


accounts  or  "stories"  are  embellished  to  the 
point  where  the  residents  of  the  community 
scarcely  recognize  themselves  as  the  partici- 
pators. The  unsympathetic  are  provided  with 
the  most  formidable  of  weapons — suspicion. 
They  point  to  the  discrepancies  between  what 
had  happened  and  what  the  newspaper  "story" 
says  has  happened.  Those  who  have  ulterior 
motives  for  wanting  the  community  organized, 
those  who  are  naturally  suspicious,  and  those 
who  are  conscientiously  opposed  to  Democracy, 
may  now  easily  frustrate  the  movement. 
Nothing  is  so  deadly  to  a  community  organiza- 
tion experiment  as  to  have  someone  with 
authority  say,  "It  sounds  very  well  and  looks 
very  well  on  paper,  but  it  doesn't  exist." 
Leaders  are  not  always  to  be  blamed  for  this 
too  frequent  obstacle.  Newspaper  reporters 
often  beguile  them  into  publicity  schemes,  while 
their  intentions  are  unquestionable.  A  reason- 
able amount  of  publicity  is,  of  course,  essential 
even  in  the  initial  stages  of  community  organi- 
zation, but  the  promoters  must  not  be  ambitious 
in  displaying  results  that  are  merely  hoped  for; 
they  must  adhere  to  facts.  After  the  com- 
munity has  been  organized  for  a  period  of  from 
one  to  three  years,  wider  publicity  is  not  so 
dangerous.  Care  must  be  exercised  in  all 
stages,  however,  to  emphasize  the  community 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  183 

and  the  community  groups,  rather  than  indi- 
viduals. Democratic  leadership  is  not  envious ; 
it  exalteth  not  itself. 

Principle  Number  Nine 

Budgets  for  community  organization 
should  begin  on  a  moderate  plane  and  in- 
crease only  in  proportion  to  new  or  ex- 
tended functions.  One  of  the  primary 
tests  of  Democracy  is  its  ability  to  get  on 
with  the  tools  at  hand.  Most  communities 
have  sufficient  social  machinery;  it  needs 
gearing  up — coordination,  and  the  injec- 
tion of  the  oil  of  cooperation.  If  a  large 
budget  is  required  at  the  outset,  it  will  be 
difficult  to  increase  this  budget  with  in- 
creasing functions. 

Most  plans  of  community  organization  come 
to  grief  on  the  financial  rock.  Under  the  im- 
petus of  initial  enthusiasm  it  is  a  great  tempta- 
tion to  raise  a  large  budget.  It  is  easy  to  forget 
that  budgets  are  usually  more  easily  raised  upon 
anticipation  than  upon  fragmentary  achieve- 
ment. Moreover,  a  large  budget  at  the  begin- 
ning means  the  promotion  of  a  program  which 
soon  gets  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the 
average  citizen;  he  becomes  bewildered  with  ac- 
tivities. A  small  budget  means  concentration 
upon  the  existing  agencies,  organizations,  and 
institutions;  it  fosters  development  of  person- 


184  THE  COMMUNITY 


ality  and  leadership.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
large  budget  means  the  initiation  of  activities. 
When  all  of  the  local  resources  have  been 
utilized  and  made  effective,  new  functions  will 
become  necessary.  At  this  point  an  increased 
budget  may  be  called  for;  in  fact,  it  will  be 
asked  for  since  the  need  is  apparent. 

Principle  Number  Ten 

A  Critique  of  community  organization 
procedure  should  be  provided  for  by  the 
leaders  of  the  movement.  Wholesome 
self-criticism  will  save  many  plans  from 
early  destruction.  A  community  organiza- 
tion should  have  a  committee  on  research 
and  criticism.  The  function  of  this  com- 
mittee should  be  to  evaluate  each  step  in 
the  organization  process. 

Introspection  breeds  pessimism.  Wholesome 
self-criticism  promotes  sound  optimism.  Com- 
munity organization  enthusiasts  are  likely  to  be 
somewhat  temperamental,  and  temperamental 
persons  seldom  enjoy  honest  criticism.  In  our 
political  system  the  party  that  is  "in" — is  sub- 
jected to  a  sharp,  if  somewhat  crude,  criticism. 
This  is,  in  fact,  the  chief  function  of  the  de- 
feated party — to  make  its  principles  felt 
through  criticism  of  the  successful  party.  A 
similar  check  is  needed  in  social  movements. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  185 


It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  social  engineers  of  the 
community  movement  will  develop  a  new  tech- 
nique of  criticism;  one  that  will  proceed  from 
within  rather  than  from  without.  A  body  of 
the  keenest  minds  of  the  community  should  be 
brought  together  periodically  to  evaluate  every- 
thing that  is  done — in  the  name  of  community 
organization.  At  times,  this  committee  should 
be  supplemented  by  the  criticisms  of  specialists 
from  the  outside.  The  results  from  this  com- 
mittee should,  of  course,  be  constructive. 
Nothing  is  to  be  gained  by  mere  criticism. 
Tragic  failures  may  be  avoided  by  constructive 
critical  examinations.  The  committee  should, 
in  reality,  be  one  of  research;  constantly  evalu- 
ating for  the  purpose  of  discovering  newer  and 
better  ways  of  doing  things,  and  constantly 
applying  the  principles  of  social  science  to  the 
problems  of  the  local  community's  organization. 

The  above  principles  are  to  be  regarded  as 
temporary  inductions  from  experience  and  ob- 
servation, covering  only  a  limited  number  of 
communities.  Community  organization  is  one 
of  the  newest  branches  of  applied  social  science. 
The  social  sciences  do  not  attempt  the  formula- 
tion of  static  principles;  human  affairs  are  too 
fluid  and  non-mechanical  to  permit  such  a  pro- 
cess. These  principles,  and  the  many  others 
which  need  to  be  stated,  should  be  supple- 


186  THE  COMMUNITY 


merited  by  the  student's  experience.  It  is  hoped 
that  those  engaged  in  the  practical  affairs  of 
community  organization  will  scrutinize  them 
with  care,  and  with  no  thought  of  sparing  the 
author.  He  will  be  most  eager  to  change  the 
principles,  when  it  is  proved  that  change  will 
promote  scientific  community  organization. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

1.  Describe  the  processes  involved  in  some 
form  of  federation  of  agencies  or  organi- 
zations with  similar  programs. 

2.  Devise  a  plan  of  organizing  a  council  of 
social  agencies  for:  (a)  a  community  of 
5,000  population,  (b)  a  community  of 
25,000  population,  (c)  a  community  of 
250,000  population,  (d)  a  rural  county. 

3.  Devise  a  plan  for  the  organization  of  the 
governmental  and  the  extra-governmental 
agencies  functioning  within  a  certain  state; 
that  is,  devise  a  plan  for  a  state  council  of 
social  agencies. 

4.  Write  a  500  word  criticism  of  the  Com- 
munity Council  plan  of  community  organi- 
zation. 

5.  Write  a  1,000  word  criticism  of  the  Social 
Unit  plan  of  community  organization. 

6.  Write  a  definition  of  community  organiza- 
tion. 


COMMUNITY  ORGANIZATION  187 


7.  Write  an  essay  on  the  theory  of  social  con- 
flict, using  some  historical  basis  of  special 
interest  to  yourself  as  a  student. 

8.  Study  two  sets  of  community  projects:  one 
in  which  the  project  received  its  stimulus 
from  an  outside  agency;  and  one  in  which 
the  project  originated  within  the  com- 
munity. 

9.  Make  a  brief  study  of  some  community, 
and  state  what  projects  you  would  use  in 
beginning  a  plan  of  community  organiza- 
tion.  Give  reasons. 

10.  Why  are  conservatives  usually  in  power, 
while  progressives  are  usually  in  the  ascend- 
ancy in  leadership  ? 

11.  Make  several  studies  of  the  functioning  of 
committees.  Tabulate  the  processes  and 
the  results. 

12.  Outline  a  publicity  program  for  a  com- 
munity organization  campaign  in  a  com- 
munity of  50,000  population. 


CHAPTER  XII 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  COMMUNITY 
LEADERSHIP 

From  whence  shall  come  the  force  which  will 
make  Democracy  effective  in  local  communities? 
We  now  know  how  futile  it  is  to  speak  of 
"making  Democracy  safe  for  the  world,"  while 
it  is  still  ineffective  on  the  basis  of  our  smallest 
social  units — of  families,  neighborhoods  and 
communities.  Democracy  will  be  safe  only  when 
its  spirit  is  breathed  into  the  homely  tasks  of 
the  so-called  common  man.  The  program  of 
this  generation  is  not  to  make  Democracy  safe 
but  to  make  it  real.  And  what  can  make  it 
real?  What  force  can  give  to  Democracy  the 
same  sort  of  reality  which  was  revealed  by 
Militarism  in  these  recent  days? 

This  question  cannot  be  answered  in  terms 
of  machinery.  The  Community  Movement 
promises  to  be  the  vehicle  by  which  Democracy 
is  to  be  interpreted  to  the  people  of  the  earth. 

But  if  the  Community  Movement  consists  of 
mere  social  machinery,  we  shall  find  ourselves 
lacking  in  motive  power  adequate  to  cause  the 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  189 


machinery  to  run.  Two  things  are  needed:  A 
Spiritual  Motive  for  Democracy ,  and  Leader- 
ship. Both  of  these  factors  have  entered  into 
the  foregoing  discussions.  Leadership  has  re- 
ceived direct  attention,  and  religion,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  has  been  discoverable  in  numerous  rela- 
tionships. 

The  Elements  of  Democratic  Leadership 

Leadership  in  a  Democracy  cannot  be  in- 
herited; neither  can  it  be  purchased.  It  comes 
only  to  those  whose  motives,  purposes  and 
faiths  are  in  harmony  with  profound  demo- 
cratic principles.  The  more  obvious  traits  of 
leadership,  such  as  initiative,  resourcefulness, 
loyalty,  etc.,  have  received  adequate  attention 
elsewhere ;  this  discussion  will  be  confined  to  the 
more  or  less  neglected  elements  of  leadership 
which  are  definitely  related  to  Democracy  and 
the  community  process. 

( i )  The  Community  Leader  is  frequently 
entreated  to  become  a  "four-square  man." 
That  is,  he  is  reminded  that  his  leadership  de- 
pends upon  a  symmetrical  development  of  his 
mental,  physical,  social  and  spiritual  nature.  In 
a  general  sense  this  is  good  advice;  in  a  strict 
sense  it  is  an  impossibility.  Such  equality  of 
endowments  does  not  exist  in  the  extremely 
variable  development  of  man.    In  a  scientific 


190  THE  COMMUNITY 


sense,  the  leader  should  make  the  highest  pos- 
sible use  of  his  special  capacities.  So  far  as  the 
records  indicate,  Jesus  was  well  developed 
physically;  he  appeared  to  have  a  real  passion 
for  "folks" — a  sociable  nature;  he  was  intel- 
lectually alert.  But  the  most  ardent  admirer 
of  this  Personality  must  grant  that  Jesus  made 
the  highest  use  of  his  specialty — his  spiritual 
nature.  His  universal  appeal  comes  not  from 
his  physique,  his  sociability,  or  his  mentality, 
but  from  his  spirituality.  It  is  true  that  he 
interpreted  the  whole  of  life  in  terms  of 
spiritual  values,  and  to  that  extent  he  empha- 
sized all  aspects  of  life.  He  was,  nevertheless, 
a  spiritual  specialist. 

There  is  danger  in  dividing  life  into  threes, 
fours  and  fives.  Life  is  not  so  simple;  it  is  mul- 
tiple. And  in  a  closely  knit  state  of  organiza- 
tion, man  must  select  from  his  multiple  capaci- 
ties certain  ones  which  he  may  so  develop  as 
to  make  his  best  contribution  to  society.  The 
progressive  community  leader  in  modern  so- 
ciety is  one  who  neglects  none  of  the  vital 
aspects  of  living,  but  selects  for  emphasis  the 
capacity  with  which  he  is  especially  equipped. 

(2)  The  Community  Leader's  greatest 
temptation  is  to  "do"  things  for  the  community, 
rather  than  create  the  means  whereby  the  com- 
munity may  do  things  for  itself.  There  are  two 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  191 


objections  to  this  type  of  leadership:  in  the 
first  place,  it  devitalizes  the  leader,  and  in  the 
second  place,  it  undermines  the  community. 
Each  time  the  leader  does  something  for  the 
community  that  the  community  might  have  done 
for  itself,  he  prevents  the  community  from 
developing  its  own  resources.  This  process  in 
time  becomes  so  devitalizing  that  whole  com- 
munities appear  to  be  without  leadership. 
The  principle  is  applicable  even  in  cases  where 
the  leader's  ability  is  superior  to  that  of  the 
community.  (That  is,  of  course,  seldom  the 
case  but  it  is  frequently  imagined.)  In  a 
Democracy,  the  group  must  be  permitted  the 
right  to  make  its  own  mistakes.  Eventually, 
this  process  leads  to  the  proper  utilization  of 
specialized  leadership. 

(3)  The  Community  Leader  who  is  con- 
stantly "doing  things"  instead  of  getting  them 
done,  can  scarcely  escape  the  dangers  of  per- 
sonal advertisement.  He  comes  to  feel  a  cer- 
tain pride  in  the  multiplicity  of  activities  which 
center  about  him.  Personal  advertising  results 
in  diminishing  returns  from  leadership.  There 
is  a  certain  <( saturation  pointy>  in  personal  ad- 
vertising; when  this  point  is  reached  each  suc- 
ceeding mention  of  the  leader's  name  tends  to 
debase  rather  than  elevate  his  position  as  a 
leader.    A  study  of  several  hundred  leaders 


192  THE  COMMUNITY 


such  as  secretaries  of  chambers  of  commerce, 
school  superintendents,  ministers,  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
secretaries,  recreation  leaders,  etc.,  reveals  the 
fact  that  their  careers  may  be  accurately  charted 
according  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  personal  adver- 
tising. Many  leaders  escape  the  decline  of 
leadership,  due  to  personal  advertising,  by 
moving  to  a  new  field  of  service.  Ministers 
and  teachers  appear  to  be  especially  susceptible 
to  this  sort  of  "call."  Moving  to  a  new  and 
larger  field  may  be  profitable  to  the  leader,  but 
it  is  harmful  to  the  community.  The  permanent 
leaders  who  live  their  lives  in  a  single  commu- 
nity, without  diminishing  influence,  are  those 
"who  seek  not  their  own  glory."  Studies  of  their 
lives  indicate  that  they  are  cognizant  of  the 
more  or  less  superficial  values  in  newspaper 
publicity  and  personal  advertising.  In  a  Democ- 
racy, there  is  no  scientific  method  whereby  the 
leader  may  be  entirely  separated  from  his 
group;  if  he  himself  makes  such  a  separation, 
he  does  so  at  the  risk  of  sacrificing  his  leader- 
ship. Social  reformers  have  a  tendency  to  be- 
come "separatists"  in  this  sense,  and  seldom 
fulfil  the  early  promises  of  their  lives. 

(4)  The  Community  Leader  must  generate 
ideas.  When  he  becomes  absorbed  in  the 
mechanism  of  activities  he  loses  the  capacity  to 
create;  his  ideas  grow  stale.    The  only  known 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  193 


method  of  remaining  in  the  creative  class  is  to 
be  free.  The  community  leader  who  "belongs" 
to  a  clique  in  the  community,  or  who  is  the 
mouthpiece  for  persons  or  forces  unseen,  can 
never  be  a  creative  leader.  Creative  ideas  come 
out  of  the  future  and  not  out  of  the  past.  The 
community  leader  in  a  Democracy  must  share 
the  future.  His  golden  age  must  be  translated 
in  terms  of  the  community  in  which  he  labors. 
Leaders  come  from  all  psychological  types;  one 
must  choose  his  type.  Since  this  is  a  psycho- 
logical principle,  it  may  be  fruitful  to  make  a 
brief  analysis  of  the  prevalent  types  of  mind  as 
related  to  creative  ideas: 

The  reactionary  thinks  in  terms  of  the  past; 
he  opposes  change  because  it  is  change. 
He  does  not  believe  in  progress. 

The  conservative  thinks  in  terms  of  the 
present;  he  opposes  change  because  it 
affects  his  stake  in  the  present  order.  The 
true  conservative  is  usually  well  grounded 
in  the  past.  He  believes  in  progress  pro- 
vided it  comes  slowly  enough  to  be  imper- 
ceptible to  him. 

The  liberal  thinks  in  terms  of  the  future;  he 
welcomes  change  as  the  only  mode  of 
growth  and  the  principle  of  life.  He  be- 
lieves in  tentative  progress. 

The  radical  thinks  in  terms  of  a  future 
fashioned  according  to  his  will;  he  usually 


194  THE  COMMUNITY 


has  a  single  solution  for  all  present  ills. 
He  believes  in  absolute  progress. 

The  community  leader  who  hopes  to  make  a 
real  contribution  to  Democracy  may  be  a  mem- 
ber of  any  of  the  last  three  types.  If  he  wishes 
to  make  a  creative  contribution  he  is  limited  to 
the  last  two  types.  And,  if  he  wishes  to  be  con- 
structively active  during  his  own  lifetime,  he 
must  confine  himself  to  the  liberal  type  of  mind. 
The  liberal  leader  is  not  dogmatic.  He  is  not 
particularistic.  He  sees  life  as  a  whole,  but  in 
emphasizing  his  own  special  interests  does  not 
preclude  the  same  right  to  others  in  their  chosen 
fields.  He  never  shrinks  from  change.  He  is 
not  a  fatalist,  but  believes  that  man's  destiny 
may  be  controlled  by  man's  conscious  planning. 
Because  he  believes  that  the  future  is  in  man's 
hands,  he  devotes  himself  to  a  profound  faith 
in  mankind.  This  faith  in  mankind  leads 
directly  to  spiritual  motivation.  Man's  life  is 
fragmentary,  incomplete;  his  ultimate  well- 
being  or  perfection  is  a  thing  to  be  hoped  for 
in  faith.  The  liberal's  faith  in  man,  as  an 
admittedly  inescapable  portion  of  the  universe, 
furnishes  his  faith  in  the  essential  purpose 
underlying  the  universe,  which  is  God. 

(5)  The  Community  Leader  believes  that 
the  fundamental  and  essential  insights  of  life 
are  within  the  reach  of  the  so-called  common 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  195 

man.  He  is  not  content  with  his  ideas  and 
ideals  until  they  are  comprehended  and  inter- 
preted by  the  common  man.  He  knows  that  all 
great  social  achievements  of  the  race  have  been 
the  result  of  the  common  man's  awakened 
spirit.  His  chief  task  at  the  present  stage  of 
experimental  Democracy  is  to  interpret  to,  and 
with,  the  common  man  the  function  of  the 
specialist.  In  short,  the  true  community  leader 
in  a  Democracy  sows  his  seed  in  the  minds  of 
common  men  in  the  sure  hope  that  if  it  is  good 
seed  it  will  bear  its  fruit  in  its  time.  When  the 
group  fails  to  sustain  his  ideas  or  ideals  he  does 
not  condemn  the  group ;  he  begins  once  more  to 
clarify  and  to  illumine.  He  never  loses  faith  in 
his  ideals  nor  in  his  group.  His  task  is  to  bring 
his  group  to  understand  his  ideals.  All  of  this 
implies  that  the  community  leader  possesses  an 
"open  mind,  an  understanding  heart,  and  a  free 
soul." 

(6)  The  Community  Leader  has  a  philoso- 
phy of  life.  He  does  not  seek  to  impose  his 
philosophy  upon  others.  He  grants  all  others 
the  same  rights  and  privileges  which  he  de- 
mands for  himself.  His  technique  never  gets 
ahead  of  his  philosophy.  Nothing  is  done  until 
he  asks  himself  the  question,  "Why?"  There 
is  about  the  truly  Democratic  leader  a  certain 
calm  and  a  certain  steadiness  which  give  proof 


196  THE  COMMUNITY 


of  sure  foundations.  His  thinking  is  never 
"muddled."  One  often  finds  him  in  the  realm 
of  fancy,  but  not  for  long.  His  fancy  leads 
quickly  to  argument  and  discussion.  Then  fol- 
lows investigation,  and  out  of  his  fanciful  ideal- 
ism emerges  a  scientific  principle.  He  is  not 
torn  hither  and  yon  by  every  wind  that  blows, 
and  although  his  gaze  is  firmly  fixed  on  the 
future,  he  approaches  steadily,  sequentially  and 
calmly.  His  enthusiasms  are  genuine ;  they  need 
not  be  fed  by  the  ephemeral  flames  of  flattery. 
He  is  willing  to  pay  the  price  for  each  convic- 
tion and  for  each  change  in  philosophy.  And, 
because  one  knows  that  he  has  paid  the  price, 
his  philosophy  rings  true. 

Christianity:  the  Social  Leadership  Religion 
There  is  a  sense  in  which  each  individual 
must  meet  his  God  face  to  face,  and  alone. 
Religion  considered  with  this  signification  be- 
longs to  theology  and  philosophy.  There  is 
another  sense  in  which  a  man's  religion  has  no 
reality  outside  of  his  behavior.  This  import  of 
religion  belongs  to  the  sciences  of  sociology  and 
ethics.  It  is  difficult  to  speak  of  religion  in  this 
latter  connection;  our  terminology  is  so  clut- 
tered with  phrases  of  cant  and  of  medieval  sen- 
timentalism  that  one  is  sure  to  be  misunderstood 
when  attempting  a  scientific  interpretation.  If 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  197 


the  religion  which  we  pretend  to  believe  in 
(Christianity)  is  to  become  effective  as  a 
dynamic  force  in  community  life,  this  risk  of 
misunderstanding  must  not  be  shirked.  "Lan- 
guage is  like  an  instrument  that  requires  to  be 
tuned  occasionally;  as  no  generation  can  be 
satisfied  to  think  the  thoughts  of  the  preceding 
one,  so  no  group  of  men  in  the  world  of  letters 
can  use  the  language  of  the  school  that  went 
before  them."  The  language  of  religion  is 
sadly  in  need  of  tuning.  The  sociologists  who 
are  attempting  to  bring  science  and  religion 
together  in  the  interests  of  man's  welfare  must, 
perforce,  speak  in  a  new  tongue. 

( I )  Christianity  is  primarily  a  philosophy 
of  life,  and  secondarily  a  system  of  belief. 
Those  who  reverse  this  concept  cause  separa- 
tism on  the  basis  of  differences  of  belief.  In 
this  divisional  process,  the  ethical  content  of 
Christianity  is  subordinated.  Religion  is  domi- 
nated by  theology, — which  consists  of  other 
persons'  ideas  about  God,  inspired  writings, 
atonement,  sacraments,  original  sin  and  the 
numerous  other  fractional  elements  of  religion. 
Theology  begins  with  assumptions  based  upon 
authorization.  Philosophy  begins  with  no 
assumptions  and  ends  with  rationalizations. 
Many  of  these  rational  concepts  of  philosophy 
harmonize  with  theological  concepts,  but  they 


198  THE  COMMUNITY 


become  truth,  not  because  someone  has  declared 
them,  but  because  they  have  become  true  to  the 
consciousness  of  the  present  individual.  The 
sociologist  accepts  the  philosopher's  interpreta- 
tion of  religion.  He  applies  the  test  of  Jesus: 
"By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  He  sees 
in  Jesus  the  heroic  attempt  to  blend  the  mystical 
elements  of  religion  with  the  ethical  elements  of 
life.  From  the  mass  of  things  written  and  said 
about  Jesus,  he  selects  those  important  words 
and  acts  (primarily  acts)  which  have  universal 
application. 

Jesus  made  certain  assumptions  of  behavior. 
He  said  that  it  was  ethically  right  to  love  your 
enemy;  He  proceeded  to  demonstrate  that  this 
was  a  vital  principle  of  His  life.  Jesus  as- 
sumed that  the  natural  corollary  of  the 
Fatherhood  of  God  was  the  Brotherhood  of 
Man.  He  demonstrated  His  principles  by  His 
life.  Jesus  illustrated  His  ideas  of  spiritualized 
social  behavior  by  numerous  examples  of  social 
situations.  His  favorite  method  of  clarifying 
a  principle  of  ethics  was  to  imagine  and  to  por- 
tray an  exact  situation  in  which  two  courses  of 
action  were  open  to  the  participators;  He  then 
proceeded  to  indicate  the  selection  which  would 
be  made  by  the  man  whose  religion  motivated 
his  actions.  When  He  was  asked  for  an  ex- 
planation of  His  conception  of  the  saving 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  199 


powers  of  religion,  He  refrained  from  men- 
tioning belief;  He  recalled  a  series  of  social 
situations  in  which  one  might  or  might  not  feed 
the  hungry,  give  drink  to  the  thirsty,  take  in  the 
stranger,  clothe  the  naked,  visit  the  sick  or 
those  in  prison.  In  sharpest  contrast,  He  then 
portrayed  the  behavior  of  the  religious  and  of 
the  non-religious  man. 

Those  who  wish  to  spin  fine  theories  of  belief 
out  of  the  fragments  of  the  Life  of  Jesus  have 
ample  material.  Those  who  view  His  Life  as 
a  whole,  with  the  purpose  of  selecting  from  it 
those  universal  principles  which  are  for  all  time, 
see  in  Him  the  personification  of  modern  social 
idealism. 

Since  the  ground  was  broken  by  Rauschen- 
busch,  there  has  followed  a  forceful  series  of 
interpretations  of  the  social  significance  of 
Christianity.  But  the  Christianity  of  our  day 
is  firmly  gripped  by  institutionalism.  This  is 
our  danger;  namely,  that  we  shall  subordinate 
the  promotion  of  Christianity  as  a  philosophy 
of  life  to  the  preservation  of  our  own  organ- 
ized form  of  Christianity  based  upon  some  re- 
former's previous  interpretation.  It  has  been 
said  that  a  conservative  is  a  person  who  is  fol- 
lowing a  dead  radical.  In  no  sphere  of  life 
does  man  dare  less  than  in  religion.  Time  itself 
seems  to  have  a  sacred  part  to  play  in  making 


200  THE  COMMUNITY 


revolutionary  ideas  of  the  past  hallowed  to  the 
present.  Paul  said:  'Trove  all  things;  hold 
fast  to  that  which  is  true."  The  only  part  of 
this  valuable  admonition  which  some  seem  to 
remember  is  to  "hold  fast."  Unless  Chris- 
tianity can  be  permeated  with  the  new  spirit  of 
dynamic  social  purpose,  those  who  "hold  fast" 
may  find  themselves  clinging  to  the  dry  husk  of 
institutionalism,  while  Christianity  itself  has 
flown  through  the  windows  into  the  lives  of 
men. 

(2)  The  methods  of  Christianity  are  socio- 
logically scientific.  Christianity  is  here  used  to 
connote  the  methods  of  Jesus  and  the  early 
Christian  Church.  Jesus  established  certain 
socio-ethical  principles;  the  early  Christian 
.Church  applied  some  of  those  principles  in 
social  experimentation. 

Since  that  time  there  has  come  into  existence 
a  body  of  scientific  knowledge,  regarding  man 
as  a  socins  or  member  of  society.  The  so-called 
social  sciences  are  dependent  upon  the  physical 
sciences.  The  plural  use  of  the  term  "science" 
is  a  misnomer;  there  are  no  sciences,  but  Science. 
When  we  speak  of  social  sciences  we  use  the 
plural  form  of  the  word  merely  to  denote  a 
division  of  science,  and  not  to  imply  a  separa- 
tion. What  is  true  of  science,  in  general,  is 
also  true  of  the  science  of  man  and  of  society. 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  201 


Science  believes  in  the  search  for  Truth.  It 
has  two  major  functions:  to  expose  error  and 
to  reveal  Truth.  This  was  the  philosophy  and 
the  method  of  Jesus.  He  believed  so  thoroughly 
in  the  liberating  powers  of  Truth,  that  He  said 
it  alone  could  make  one  free.  He  used  both 
methods  of  Science;  He  exposed  error,  sham, 
cant  and  hypocrisy  wherever  He  found  it, — and 
He  supplanted  error  with  Truth. 

Science  believes  that  Truths  are  demon- 
strable. It  begins  by  observation  of  facts; 
from  thence  it  follows  through  the  processes  of 
classification,  experimentation,  generalization, 
demonstration  and  induction.  Jesus  stated  cer- 
tain ethical  and  social  truths.  He  then  pro- 
ceeded to  demonstrate  those  truths  in  His  own 
life.  Thus,  He  said  that  it  was  possible  to  love 
one's  enemies.  His  contemporaries  had  been 
taught  the  righteousness  of  hating  enemies. 
The  Truth  of  Jesus  was  in  direct  conflict  with 
current  thought.  So  far  as  the  records  go,  He 
never  gave  way  to  hatred  of  His  enemies.  He 
not  only  demonstrated  His  Truth  negatively, 
but  went  so  far  as  to  extend  love  to  those  who 
had  persecuted  Him. 

Science  believes  in  sharing  its  facts.  There 
is  an  actual  brotherhood  of  scientists.  They  do 
their  work  in  the  open.  Their  achievements 
are  published  for  all  to  read.    Occasionally  a 


202  THE  COMMUNITY 


bigot  appears  in  the  scientific  field,  but  he  is 
soon  put  to  rout;  science  and  bigotry  have 
nothing  in  common.  Jesus  also  did  His  work 
in  the  open.  He  trained  His  followers  in  His 
methods.  He  promised  that  greater  things 
might  be  done  by  them  than  He  had  done.  He 
imposed  one  condition:  those  who  would  follow 
in  His  steps  must  be  willing  to  pay  the  price. 
There  was  nothing  of  quackery  about  His 
method  of  work.1 

The  adherents  of  the  early  Christian  Church 
believed  in  the  socio-ethical  principles  of  Jesus. 
They  established  a  social  and  an  economic  sys- 
tem based  upon  these  principles.  They  refused 
to  enter  certain  trades  such  as  the  manufacture 
of  idols.  They  refused  to  bear  arms,  and 
placed  their  religion  above  nationalism.  The 
ethical  and  spiritual  dangers  of  vested  interests 
in  property  were  clearly  recognized.  They 
believed  in  peaceful  revolution — changing  the 
social  structure  with  the  weapons  of  non- 
resistance.  Their  faith  was  not  placed  in  legis- 
lation, but  in  the  fundamental  changes  of  the 
heart  coupled  to  similar  fundamental  changes  in 
the  social  structure  and  process.  All  of  this  is 
still  good  science.    It  would  be  folly  to  pretend 

1  The  above  passages  regarding  the  scientific  nature  of  the  methods 
of  Jesus  have  been  borrowed  largely  from  the  illuminating  para- 
graphs of  Professor  Arthur  J.  Todd's  book,  "The  Scientific  Spirit  and 
Social  Work,"  Macmillan,  pp.  70-80. 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  203 


that  the  exact  methods  of  Jesus  and  the  early 
Christians  could  be  utilized  in  the  present,  but 
the  unfolding  of  the  social  sciences  appears  to 
prove  that  the  principles  indicated  are  increas- 
ingly true. 

(3)  Christianity  has  a  community  obliga- 
tion. We  must  now  distinguish  between  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Church.  The  Church  is  a 
mechanism.  It  operates  by  means  of  boards, 
committees,  memberships,  institutions — all 
phases  of  social  mechanics.  Jesus  trained  a  few 
people  in  a  simple  technique  before  the  day  of 
modern  church  programs.  He  interpreted  God 
as  social  purpose — the  central  figure  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  Every  problem  was  to 
Him,  first  of  all,  a  religious  problem,  and  second- 
arily, economic,  political  or  social.  His  em- 
phasis was  upon  the  twofold  salvation  of  the 
individual  and  society.  He  once  announced  the 
tremendous  sociological  fact  that  the  Kingdom 
of  God  was  in  man.  The  mystics  have  appro- 
priated this  statement  as  an  indication  of  the 
extreme  mysticism  of  Jesus.  The  socially- 
minded  have  an  equal  right  to  interpret  it  as  an 
implication  of  Jesus'  fundamental  belief  that 
the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  Democracy  of 
Man  are  synonymous. 

We  now  have  "communities  of  Christians 
that  are  not  Christian  communities."  There 


204  THE  COMMUNITY 


are  church-going  populations  whose  religion  is 
used  in  much  the  same  manner  as  a  napkin;  it 
is  worn  during  the  church  service  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  and  promptly  removed  when  the  serv- 
ice is  over.  One  day  in  seven  the  respectable, 
law-abiding,  right-minded  people  of  the  com- 
munity turn  aside  from  their  usual  tasks  to  re- 
ceive spiritual  nourishment.  The  pastor,  a 
specialist  in  spiritual  forces,  provides  them  with 
discourse,  song  and  prayer.  And  the  old,  old 
evils  continue.  Business  men  drive  sharp  bar- 
gains in  utter  forgetfulness  of  the  social  prin- 
ciples of  Jesus,  namely:  that  it  is  ethically  unjust 
to  do  unto  others  as  you  would  not  be  done  by. 
It  is  true,  we  refine  our  methods  as  social 
contacts  and  controls  become  more  intimate, 
but  to  make  gain  at  the  expense  of  another's  loss 
is  social  sin  under  any  guise.  The  leisure  time 
of  the  people — that  great  reservoir  out  of 
which  should  come  the  creative  expressions  of 
the  community — is  turned  over  to  commercial 
agencies  who  entertain  for  "revenue  only"  and 

" .  .  .  man  with  man 
Jostles,  and,  in  the  brawl  for  means  to  live, 
Life  is  trod  underfoot, — Life,  the  one  block 
Of  marble  that's  vouchsafed  wherefrom  to 
carve 

Our  great  thoughts,  white  and  godlike,  to  shine 

down 
The  future  ..." 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  205 


Competition  rises  superior  to  cooperation. 
Class  differences  are  allowed  to  become  class 
hatreds.  Now  and  then  an  idealist  lifts  his 
voice  in  protest,  but  the  Christians  become  the 
persecutors  of  his  like.  They  are  now  in  the 
saddle  and  riding  hard.  The  Christians  are  the 
comfortably  successful  people  of  our  time,  and 
it  is  discomforting  to  imagine  how  they  would 
receive  the  homeless,  wandering,  divinely  dis- 
contented teacher  who  was  the  Christ. 

When  Tolstoy  came  to  a  realization  of  the 
universal  Truth  and  Power  of  Jesus,  he  cried 
out  in  anguish:  "If  Christians  believe  what  they 
say,  how  can  they  live  as  they  do?"  He  then 
proceeded  to  experiment  with  Christianity  by 
running  away  from  the  problems  of  the  modern 
community.  This  cannot  be  our  method. 
Christianity  may  have  its  other-worldly  func- 
tion, but  it  is  also  in  the  world  to  save  the  world. 
No  true  follower  of  Jesus  can  escape  his  social 
obligations. 

What  then  is  the  Christian  obligation  to  the 
community?  The  so-called  common  people, 
who  heard  Jesus  so  gladly  and  who  received  so 
much  attention  from  Him,  are  gradually  drift- 
ing away  from  the  organized  Church.  They 
are  seeking  the  expression  of  their  social  ideal- 
ism elsewhere.  The  Church  is  coming  to  be  a 
middle-class  institution  whose  very  architecture 


206  THE  COMMUNITY 


and  service  cause  the  manual  worker  to  feel  out 
of  place.  Without  them, — the  so-called  com- 
mon people, — no  success  of  the  Church  will  be 
worthy  of  the  name  of  Christ.  The  processes 
of  education  are  growing  apace.  Soon  the 
working  peoples  of  the  world  will  be  equipped 
with  the  intellectual  tools  of  leadership.  The 
true  Christian  is  determined  that  these  tools 
shall  be  wielded  with  more  of  the  grace  of 
Jesus  than  has  been  true  of  the  authoritative 
use  of  the  tools  in  the  hands  of  the  ascendent 
classes  of  the  past  two  centuries.  This  is  Chris- 
tianity's first  obligation:  to  make  the  creative 
social  movements  of  our  time  Christian  in 
character. 

Inasmuch  as  this  book  is  predicated  upon  the 
thesis  that  the  creative  social  movement  of  the 
future  is  to  be  fundamentally  and  originally  a 
Community  Movement,  it  is  incumbent  upon  the 
writer  to  indicate  how  Christianity  may  render 
its  obligation  in  the  field  of  the  local  community. 

Christianity  and  the  Community 

The  Christianity  of  the  modern  world  has 
two  distinct  aspects : 

(a)  It  is  organized  in  the  form  of  institu- 
tions known  as  churches. 

(b)  It  is  a  functional  reality  in  agencies, 
organizations,  institutions,  movements 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  207 

and  individual  lives, — as  an  unorgan- 
ized system  of  idealism  and  behavior. 

The  person  who  would  orient  Christianity  to 
the  modern  world,  or  vice  versa,  must  be  inter- 
ested in  both  aspects  of  the  problem. 

The  Church  as  an  institution,  in  order  to  play 
a  vital  role  in  the  Community  Movement, 
should  consider  the  following  program: 

(a)  It  should  emphasize  the  universal  rather 
than  the  fractional  elements  of  the 
Christian  religion. 

(b)  It  should  emphasize  the  scientific  rather 
than  the  mystical  elements  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion. 

(c)  It  should  emphasize  the  ethical  rather 
than  the  creedal  factors  of  the  Christian 
religion. 

(d)  It  should  emphasize  the  social  rather 
than  the  individual  function  of  the 
Christian  religion. 

(e)  It  should  emphasize  its  special  function, 
namely,  the  spiritual  interpretation  of 
the  values  of  life. 

(f)  It  should  recognize  the  law  of  the  divi- 
sion of  labor  in  social  affairs. 

(g)  In  delegating  tasks  to  other  agencies, 
organizations  and  institutions,  it  should 
not  relinquish  its  interest  and  its  super- 
visory control. 


208  THE  COMMUNITY 


(h)  It  should  train  leaders  for  all  worthy 
causes  leading  toward  social  progress. 

(i)  It  should  apply  its  principles  freely  to 
all  political,  social,  economic,  recrea- 
tional and  educational  problems  of  the 
community. 

(j)  It  should  furnish  the  inspiration  of  the 
spiritual  dynamic  for  running  the  social 
machinery  of  the  community. 

The  above  program  is  overwhelming  to  most 
people.  Not  many  churches  will  dare  to  under- 
take it;  it  would  most  certainly  cause  many 
churches  to  come  to  grief.  In  those  same 
churches  there  would  be  "good"  members  who 
would  not  blush  to  affirm  that  if  the  principles 
of  Jesus  could  be  applied  to  our  modern  prob- 
lems they  could  all  be  solved.  Here  and  there 
a  few  churches  will  make  the  venture,  firmly 
resolved  that  the  Community  Movement  shall 
be  Christian  in  character.  In  them  will  be  re- 
quired a  faith  strong  enough  to  stand  with 
Jesus  in  believing  that  there  are  times  when 
life  can  only  be  gained  by  its  loss.  For  the 
Christian  Church  the  time  for  this  test  has 
come. 

STUDENT'S  PROBLEMS 

I.  Chart  the  careers  of  a  number  of  com- 
munity leaders  such  as  school  superinten- 
dents or  principals,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W. 


CHRISTIAN  LEADERSHIP  209 


C.  A.  secretaries,  chamber  of  commerce 
secretaries,  etc.,  indicating,  if  possible,  the 
causes  of  rise  and  fall. 

2.  Study  the  files  of  the  newspaper  of  some 
smaller  city  to  determine  the  nature  and  the 
amount  of  publicity  given  to  certain  com- 
munity leaders. 

3.  Write  an  essay  on  Jesus'  methods  of  train- 
ing leaders. 

4.  Prepare  a  bibliography  on  each  of  the 
following  topics : 

(a)  Community  organization. 

(b)  Community  studies. 

(c)  Community  leadership. 

(d)  Community  recreation. 

(e)  Community  churches. 

(f)  The  Rural  Community. 

5.  Prepare  a  list  of  the  national  agencies  deal- 
ing with  community  organization  problems. 

6.  Prepare  a  bibliography  on  the  social  sig- 
nificance of  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 

7.  Outline  the  plans  for  an  inter-church  com- 
mittee for  a  community  with  which  you  are 
familiar;  this  committee  to  be  charged  with 
the  task  of  preparing  a  code  of  ethics  for 
its  members.  The  code  should  include 
ethics  of  business,  politics,  amusement  and 
sociable  life. 

8.  Study  the  history  of  the  early  Christian 
Church;  prepare  a  list  of  the  community 


210  THE  COMMUNITY 


problems  of  that  time,  and  indicate  how  the 
early  Christians  met  these  problems. 

9.  Study  the  biographies  of  a  number  of 
leaders  of  your  acquaintance;  indicate  their 
characteristics  and  state  how  these  traits 
do  or  do  not  approximate  Christ's  mode  of 
life. 

10.  Prepare  a  confession  of  faith  which  will 
serve  as  a  tentative  background  for  your 
philosophy  of  life. 


ADDENDUM 


A  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  CONFESSION 
OF  FAITH 

I  have  frequently  been  asked  by  students  to 
prepare  a  Twentieth  Century  Confession  of 
Faith.  In  a  certain  crisis  caused  by  misunder- 
standings. I  formulated  such  a  statement.  It 
has  apparently  been  of  some  constructive  value 
to  students ;  a  letter,  which  came  as  the  closing 
paragraphs  of  this  book  were  being  written,  is 
the  cause  for  adding  the  Confession. 

The  Confession  is  not  intended  to  be  a  creed. 
It  is  merely  a  statement  of  the  positive  portions 
of  my  present  faith.  No  finality  is  attached  to 
any  section. 

I.  I  believe  in  God  who  is  Love,  Truth  and 
Purpose ;  God  who  works  with  man  and 
not  merely  for  him;  God  who  fashions 
ends,  not  beginnings;  God  who  is  pur- 
pose, not  cause.  Because  of  the  frag- 
mentary nature  of  my  own  life  I  find  it 
most  difficult  to  lead  a  unitary  existence 
without  such  faith. 


212 


THE  COMMUNITY 


II.  I  believe  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
teacher  of  Christian  ethics  and  religion. 
I  believe  so  firmly  in  the  universality  of 
His  principles  and  teachings  that  I  think 
the  world's  fundamental  social,  eco- 
nomic and  political  problems  could  be 
solved  if  those  principles  could  be  freely 
applied. 

III.  I  believe  in  Science  which  is  the  revela- 
tion of  what  is.  The  truth  of  science  is 
a  vital  part  of  that  Truth  which  alone 
can  make  us  free. 

IV.  I  believe  in  Religion  which  is  the  revela- 
tion of  what  is  to  be.  To  me  every  prob- 
lem is  first  a  religious  or  a  spiritual 
problem;  by  uniting  Science  and  Religion 
I  arrive  at  practical  idealism. 

V.  I  believe  in  Evolution.  To  me  the  one 
outstanding  and  verifiable  fact  of  the 
universe  is  that  nothing  is  static,  and  that 
everything  changes.  An  understanding 
of  the  evolutionary  processes  gives  me 
freedom  from  the  "hell  of  rigid  things." 

VI.  I  believe  in  Progress.  It  comes,  not  as 
the  result  of  blind  force,  but  only  when 
the  purpose  of  God  and  the  will  of  man 
approximate  the  same  plane.  Progress 
is  the  result  of  conscious  control;  it 
never  comes  by  accident.  Retrogression 
is  the  expected  result  of  uncontrolled 
human  passions  and  instincts;  progress 
is  the  exceptional  result. 


CONFESSION  OF  FAITH  213 


VII.  I  believe  in  the  so-called  Common  Man. 
It  is  through  him  that  all  great  upward 
movements  of  history  have  been  brought 
about.  The  fundamental  insights  of  life 
are  within  his  reach;  given  the  slightest 
amount  of  freedom  his  course  is  upward 
and  onward.  The  favored  and  privi- 
leged stand  in  greatest  need  of  redemp- 
tion. 

VIII.  I  believe  in  Liberalism  as  a  habit  of 
thought.  Truth  is  relative  like  all  other 
factors  of  human  existence.  Therefore, 
I  may  heartily  disagree  with  what 
another  says,  but  with  Carlyle  I  may  also 
"fight  to  the  death  for  his  right  to  say 
it."  The  liberal  thinks  in  terms  of  ten- 
tative progress;  he  bides  his  time  and 
puts  his  faith  in  change. 

IX.  I  believe  in  the  Organic  Nature  of  the 
Human  Family.  Whether  we  will  it  or 
not,  the  human  family  is  destined  to  rise 
or  fall  as  a  unit.  All  men  are  destined 
to  be  my  brothers,  if  by  no  other  token 
than  the  economic  forces  which  bind  us 
together  with  bands  of  steel. 

X.  I  believe  in  Democracy.  That  there  can 
be  a  state  of  society  in  which  I  may  work 
with  enthusiasm  for  myself  but  with 
equal  enthusiasm  for  the  common  good  is 
to  me  a  hopeful  reality.  The  mere  ma- 
chinery of  Democracy  is  incidental. 
"Isms"  lose  their  significance  when  we 
approach  Democracy  as  a  mode  of  life. 


THE  COMMUNITY 


What  the  world  now  needs  is  spiritual 
dynamic  in  sufficient  quantity  to  effect  an 
harmonious  relationship  between  the 
Democratic  Process  and  Specialism. 


Eduard  C.  Lindeman. 


I 


GENERAL  INDEX* 

PAGE 

Agriculture   82-83 

American  Farm  Bureau  Federation  67 

Applied  Christianity   101 

Board  of  Trade  93 

Boy  Scouts  96,156 

British  Labor  Party   64 

Brotherhood  of  Man   198 

Budgets,  Community   183-184 

Chamber  of  Commerce   .....93 

Chambers  of  Commerce   175 

Charity  Organizations  90-92 

Chautauquas   96 

Christianity  Has  a  Community  Obligation  203-206 

Christianity,  Methods  of   200-203 

Christianity,  a  Philosophy  of  Life   197-200 

Christianity  Called  the  "Social  Gospel"  101 

Christianity:  The  Social  Leadership  Religion  196-206 

Christianity,  Social  Significance  of   199 

City  Government   85-86 

Civil  War  63 

Columbus,  Ohio,  Political  Urban  Community  44 

Commercial  and  Cooperative  Organizations   93-94 

Committees   180-181 

Common  Man   115,194-195 

Common  People  205 

Community  Center   68-69,160 

Community  Church  Movement   71 

Community  Councils   69-70,  168-169 


♦Subjects  discussed  under  particular  headings  are  listed  in  the 
Special  Index— p.  219. 

215 


PAGE 

Community  Movement,  The   58-76,106,188-189 

Community  Service   96,157-158 

Conservative,  The   193 

Constitution,  The  61-62 

Consumers'  Cooperative  Movement   66-67 

Councils  of  Resistance   73 

Councils  of  Social  Agencies   165-168 

Councils  of  Social  Agencies,  Principles  of   166-167 

Creative  Social  Movements   206 

Critique  of  Community  Organization  184-186 

Declaration  of  Independence   61 

Democracy   58,188 

Democracy,  Foe  of   74 

Democracy  of  Man  203 

Democratic  Process  132,  139,  173 

Diminishing  Returns  of  Overworked  Leadership  ....114-116 

Division  of  Labor   99,  107,110 

Duplication  of  Effort   113-114 

Economics   85 

Eighteenth  Century   60 

Extra-governmental  Agencies   85,88-89 

Ezekiel   59 

Farm  Bureau   67-68,  153-155 

Farm-Cities   73 

Fatherhood  of  God   198 

Federal  Congress   62 

Forum  Movement,  The   69 

French  Revolution   61 

Garden-Cities   73 

German  Empire   63 

Girl  Scouts   96 

God  as  Social  Purpose  203 

Governmental  Institutions  of  Community   86-87 

Governmental  Institutions   84-86 

Grange   153 

Hamilton,  Alexander   62 

Home  Bureaus   155 

Home-rule  Legislation   65-66 


216 


PAGE 

Industrial  Discipline   83-84 

Institutionalism   23-24 

Jefferson   62 

Jeremiah   59 

Jesus   75,  198-199 

Jesus,  Life  of   199 

Jesus,  a  Spiritual  Specialist   190 

Jewish  Young  Men's  Association   96 

Kidd   60 

Kingdom  of  Heaven   203 

Kiwanis  Club   93 

Knights  of  Columbus   96 

Labor  Movement   43 

Lansing,  Michigan,  Political  L'rban  Community  44 

Laws  of  Voluntary  Aggregation  and  Association  103 

Leadership   179-180 

Leadership,  Elements  of  Democratic  Leadership  ....1-89-196 

Leadership,  Urge  toward   115 

Leadership,  Utilization  of  Specialized  Leadership   191 

Legalism   85 

Leisure  Time   204 

Liberal,  The   193 

Locke  60 

Loyalties,  Varieties  of   106 

Loyalty  to  Institution  or  Group   102-103 

Luther,  Martin   60 

Middle  Ages   ,  60 

Neighborhood  Improvement  Clubs  151-153 

New  Town   73 

New  York  City,  Commercial  Urban  Community   44 

Nominalism   .60 

Parent-Teacher  Associations   96 

Plato   59-60 

"Practical  Christianity"   101 

Protagoras   59 

Protestant  Churches   165 

Public  Ownership  of  Public  Utilities   66 

Public  Schools   159-160 

217 


PAGE 

Quasi-governmental  Institutions   87-88 

Radical,  The   193-194 

Rauschenbusch   199 

Reactionary,  The   193 

Realism   60 

Recreation  and  Playground  Association   156 

Red  Cross,  The   156-157 

Reformation,  The   60 

Religious  Organizations   94-96 

Rotary  Club   93,174 

Rural  Mind   56 

School  Center  Movement   Ill 

Science   200 

Settlement  House  Movement   68 

Seventeenth  Century   60 

Shop  Stewards  Movement   73 

Sixteenth  Century   60 

Sociable  Organizations  92-93 

Social  Agencies,  Fields  of  91 

Social  Engineers   185 

Social  Gospel,  The  101 

Social  Law  of  Division  of  Labor  107 

Social  Machinery   142 

Social  Regard  103 

Social  Sciences   200 

Social  Unit  Plan   70-71 

Social  Unit  Plan  of  Organization   170-171 

Social  Unit  Theory  of  Community  Organization  ....169-172 

Social  Work,  Fields  of  90-91 

Society  of  Friends  73 

Socio-ethical  Principles  of  Jesus   202 

Sociology   85 

Socius   200 

Socrates   59 

Specialism   139 

Specialist   139-140 

Specialist,  Function  of   195 

Spiritual  Motive  for  Democracy  and  Leadership  189 

218 


PAGE 

Truth   200-201 

Voluntary  Agencies,  Types  of   89-97 

Washington,  D.  C,  Political  Urban  Community   46 

Whiteley  Councils   72 

Women's  Clubs   165 

Woodrow  Wilson   64 

World  War  64-65 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association   72,95,  156,  158-159 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association — County  Work  De- 
partment  159 

Young  Women's  Christian  Association   72,95 

Yucatan,  Mexico   73 


SPECIAL  INDEX 


CHURCH,  THE: 

Church,  Function  of   21-23 

Community  Church  Movement,  The   71 

Creedal  Factors   .207 

Division  of  Labor  207 

Early  Christian  Church  ,200 

Ethical  Factors   207 

Fractional  Elements  207 

Individual  Function   207 

Institutional  Church   108-109 

Institutional  Evolution  of  the  Church  107-109 

Mystical  Elements   207 

Program,  Suggested  for  Use  in  Community  Movement  207 

Reformation,  The  Protestant  Reformation   21,  60 

Scientific  Elements  207 

Social  Function-   207 

Spiritual  Dynamic   207 

Spiritual  Interpretation   207 

Universal  Elements   j  207 

219 


COMMUNITY:  page 

Agencies  and  Needs   77-98 

Attributes  of  an  Ideal  Community   14-15 

Budgets   183-184 

Committees   180-181 

Community,  Definitions  of   9-14 

Community  Institutions   17-25,82 

Community  Movement,  The   58-75,106,188-189 

Community  Organizations,  Examples  of   150-151 

Community  Organizations,  Principles  of   172-184 

Compromise   135-136 

Conflict  in  Social  Process   175 

Conflict  of  Solutions   130-131 

Consciousness  of  Need   124-125 

"Council"   146 

Council  Plan  of  Organizing  Social  Agencies  167-168 

Councils  of  Social  Agencies,  Principles  of  165-167 

Critique  of  Community  Organization   184 

Definitions  of  a  Community   9-14 

Democratic  Process   132,139,173 

Direct   Method  of   Organization,  Arguments  fGr  and 

against   143-144 

Direct  Theory  of  Organization   142-143 

Emotional  Impulse  to  Meet  Need   128-129 

"Exchange"   146 

"Federation"   146 

Federation  Idea   164 

Indirect  Theory  of  Organization,  Arguments  for  and 

against   146-148 

Institutionalism   23-24 

Institutions   17-24,82 

Integration  of  Solutions  134-135 

Investigation   131-132 

Mass-meeting   132-133 

Needs  and  Agencies   77-98 

Needs,  Aesthetic,  Ethical,  Intellectual,  Material,  Physi- 
cal, Social   77 

Needs,  Classification  of   79-80 

Open  Discussion  132-133 

220 


PAGE 

Plan  of  Organization   170-171 

Presentation  of  Solutions   129-130 

Principles  of  Community  Organization   172-184 

Projection  of  Consciousness  of  Need   126-128 

Projects   177-178 

Publicity   181-182 

Rural  Community,  Definitions  of   12,13 

Social  Engineers   185 

Social  Unit  Plan   70-71 

Specialist,  Function  of   195 

Spreading  the  Consciousness  of  Need   125-126 

Steps  in  Community  Action  120-123 

Subterranean  Forces  176 

Theories  and  Principles  of  Community  Organization, 

139-163 

Types  of  Communities   9-10 

Types  of  Community  Organization   142-149 

Vital-interest  Groups   26-39,  174 

COMMUNITIES,  TYPES  OF   9-14,40-57 

Agricultural  Cities  or  Towns   49-52 

Commercial  Urban  Communities   43-44 

Definitions  of  Communities   9-14 

Educational  Towns  or  Villages   52-53 

Industrial  Cities  or  Towns  47-49 

Industrial  Urban  Communities   42-43 

Open  Country  Communities   55-57 

Open  Country  Communities,  Significant  Factors  in  Re- 
gard to  57 

Political  Urban  Communities   44-46 

Suburban  Communities   46-47 

Urban  Communities   41-42 

Villages   53-55 

COMMUNITY  LEADER,  THE: 

Creative  Contribution  to  Democracy   194 

Dangers  of  Personal  Advertisement  191-192 

Democratic  Leader   195-196 

Diminishing  Returns  of  Overworked  Leadership  ..114-116 
221 


PAGE 

Elements  of  Democratic  Leadership   189-196 

Function  of  the  Specialist  195 

Intellectual  Tools  of  Leadership   206 

Leadership   179-180 

Philosophy  of  Life  of  the  Leader   194-196 

Publicity   181-182 

Saturation  Point  in  Personal  Advertisement   191 

Special  Capacities  of  Leaders   190 

Specialized  Leadership,  Utilization  of  191 

Types  of  Leaders  193-194 

Urge  toward  Leadership  115 

FAMILY,  THE   18-21 

Adaptations  of  the  Family  20-21 

Democratic  Family,  The   20 

Functions  of  the  Family   19 

Stages  of  Evolution  of  the  Family  20 

INSTINCT   1-5 

Self-assertion,  Instinct  of   1 

Self-perpetuation,  Instinct  of   1 

Self-preservation,  Instinct  of   1 

Social  Nature  of  the  Instinct  of  Self-assertion   4,  5 

Social  Nature  of  the  Instinct  of  Self-perpetuation  ....3,4 
Social  Nature  of  the  Instinct  of  Self-preservation  ....2,3 

VITAL-INTEREST  GROUP,  THE   26-39,  174 

Church  Group,  The   34-36 

Home  or  Family  Group,  The   27-29 

Neighborhood  Group,  The   29-31 

Play  Group,  The   31-33 

School  Group,  The   33-34 

Service  Group,  The   37-39 

Vital-interest  Group,  The   26 

Vital-interest  Groups,  Types  of   26-27 

Work  Group,  The  36-37 


222 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


JUN  51* 


»WMUH18  1996 


JUM13'96  KKCL 


1  I  III  If  III  llffllllll  fill  fill  J 
3  1J58  00125  8812 

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